WO2016190789A1

WO2016190789A1 - Radio access nodes and methods performed therein

Info

Publication number: WO2016190789A1
Application number: PCT/SE2015/050590
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oumer Teyeb; Filip MESTANOV; Jari Vikberg
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2015-05-22
Filing date: 2015-05-22
Publication date: 2016-12-01

Abstract

Embodiments herein relate to a method performed by a second radio access node (13) for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device (10) in a wireless communication network (1). The wireless communication network comprises a first radio access node (12) of a first radio access technology providing the first link of the bearer to the wireless device (10) and the second radio access node (13) of a second radio access technology providing the second link of the bearer to the wireless device (10), and wherein the second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link. The second radio access node (13) updates the setting by mapping a second quality of service value to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node (12) and/or a second condition of the second radio access node (13).

Description

Radio access nodes and methods for handling QoS for traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first and a second link.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate to a first radio access node, a second radio access node and methods performed therein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device in a wireless communication network. BACKGROUND

In a typical wireless communication network, wireless devices, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and/or user equipments (UEs), communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more core networks. The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into areas or cell areas, with each area or cell area being served by an access node e.g., a Wi-Fi access point or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be called, for example, a "NodeB" or "eNodeB". The area or cell area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the access node. The access node communicates over an air interface operating on radio frequencies with the wireless device within range of the access node.

A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation telecommunication network, which evolved from the second generation (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) is essentially a RAN using wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and/or High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) for user equipments. In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers propose and agree upon standards for third generation networks and UTRAN specifically, and investigate enhanced data rate and radio capacity. In some RANs, e.g. as in UMTS, several access nodes may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a controller node, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), which supervises and coordinates various activities of the plural access nodes connected thereto. The RNCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.

Specifications for the Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and this work continues in the coming 3GPP releases. The EPS comprises the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also known as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network, and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network. E-UTRAN/LTE is a variant of a 3GPP radio access technology wherein the radio base station nodes are directly connected to the EPC core network rather than to RNCs. In general, in E-UTRAN/LTE the functions of an RNC are distributed between the radio base stations, e.g. eNodeBs in LTE, and the core network. As such, the Radio Access Network (RAN) of an EPS has an essentially "flat" architecture comprising radio base stations connected directly to one or more core networks, i.e. they are not connected to RNCs.

Most current Wi-Fi deployments, also referred to as Wireless Local Area Network

(WLAN) deployments, are wireless communication networks that are totally separate from telecommunication networks, and can be seen as a non-integrated network from the wireless device perspective. Most operating systems (OS) for wireless devices support a simple Wi-Fi offloading mechanism where a wireless device immediately switches all its Internet Protocol (IP) traffic to a Wi-Fi network upon a detection of a suitable network with a received signal strength above a certain level. Henceforth, the decision to offload to a Wi-Fi network or not is referred to as access selection strategy and the term "Wi-Fi-if- coverage" is used to refer to the aforementioned strategy of selecting Wi-Fi whenever such a network is detected.

However, there are several drawbacks of the "Wi-Fi-if-coverage" strategy. Though the wireless device can save previous pass codes for already accessed Wi-Fi Access Points (AP), hotspot login for previously non-accessed APs usually requires user intervention, either by entering the pass code in a Wi-Fi Connection Manager (CM). The Wi-Fi connection manager is a software on a wireless device that is in charge of managing the network connections of the wireless device, taking into account user preferences, operator preferences, network conditions, etc. or using a web interface. No consideration of expected user experience is made except those considered in the wireless device implemented proprietary solution, and this can lead to a wireless device being handed over from a high data rate telecommunication network connection to a low data rate Wi-Fi connection.

Furthermore, even though the wireless device's OS or some high level software is smart enough to make the offload decisions only when the signal level on the Wi-Fi is considerably better than the connection to the telecommunication network, there may still be limitations on the backhaul of the Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) that may end up being a bottleneck. No consideration of a load condition in the telecommunication network and load conditions in the Wi-Fi network is made. As such, the wireless device might still be offloaded to a Wi-Fi AP that is serving several wireless devices while the

telecommunication network, e.g. LTE, which the wireless device was previously connected to is rather unloaded.

Additionally, interruptions of on-going services may occur due to the change of IP address when the wireless device switches to the Wi-Fi network. For example, a user who started a Voice over IP (VoIP) call while connected to a telecommunication network is likely to experience a call drop when arriving home and the wireless device switches to the Wi-Fi network automatically. Though some applications are smart enough to handle this and survive the IP address change, e.g. some streaming applications, the majority of current applications do not. This places a lot of burden on application developers if they have to ensure service continuity.

Since no consideration of the wireless device's mobility is made during handover, a fast moving wireless device can end up being offloaded to a Wi-Fi AP for a short duration, just to be handed over back to the telecommunication network, also referred to as a ping pong handover. This is specially a problem in scenarios like cafes with open Wi-Fi networks, where a user walking by or even driving by the cafe might be affected by this. Such ping pong handovers between the Wi-Fi network and the telecommunication network may cause service interruptions as well as generate considerable unnecessary signaling, e.g. towards authentication servers.

Recently, Wi-Fi has been subject to increased interest from telecommunication network operators, not only as an extension to fixed broadband access. The interest is mainly about using the Wi-Fi technology as an extension, or alternative to

telecommunication, or cellular, radio access network technologies to handle the always increasing wireless bandwidth demands. Telecommunication network operators that are currently serving wireless devices with, e.g., any of the 3GPP technologies, LTE, UMTS / WCDMA, or GSM, see Wi-Fi as a wireless technology that can provide good support in their regular telecommunication networks. The term "operator-controlled Wi-Fi" points to a Wi-Fi deployment that on some level is integrated with a telecommunication network operator's existing network and where the 3GPP radio access networks and the Wi-Fi wireless access may even be connected to the same core network and provide the same services.

There is currently quite intense activity in the area of operator-controlled Wi-Fi in several standardization organizations. In 3GPP, activities to connect Wi-Fi access points to the 3GPP-specified core network is pursued, and in Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA), activities related to certification of Wi-Fi products are undertaken, which to some extent also is driven from the need to make Wi-Fi a viable wireless technology for telecommunication network operators to support high bandwidth offerings in their networks. The term Wi-Fi offload is commonly used and points towards that telecommunication network operators 5 seek means to offload traffic from their telecommunication networks to Wi-Fi networks, e.g., in peak-traffic-hours and in situations when the telecommunication network for one reason or another needs to be off-loaded, e.g., to provide requested quality of service, maximize bandwidth or simply for coverage. o RAN level integration in Release- 12

3GPP is currently working on specifying a feature/mechanism for WLAN/3GPP Radio interworking which improves operator control with regards to how a wireless device performs access selection and traffic steering between 3GPP and WLANs belonging to the operator or its partners, it may even be so that the mechanism can be used for other, 5 non-operator, WLANs as well, even though this is not the main target.

It is discussed that for this mechanism the RAN provides assistance parameters that helps the wireless device in the access selection. The assistance parameters may comprise three main components, namely threshold values, offloading preference indicator (OPI) and WLAN identifiers. The wireless device is also provided with RAN0 rules/policies that make use of these assistance parameters.

The thresholds values could be for example for metrics such as 3GPP signal related metrics e.g. Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)/Reference Signal Recived Quality (RSRQ)/Reference Signal Code Power (RSCP)/Energy per chip of the pilot channel divided by the total Noise power density (EcNo), WLAN signal related metrics5 such as Received Channel Power Indicator (RCPI)/ Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), WLAN load/utilization, WLAN backhaul load/capacity, etc. One example of a RAN rule that uses the threshold value could be that the wireless device should connect to a WLAN if the RSRP is below the signaled RSRP threshold at the same time as the WLAN RCPI is above a signaled RCPI threshold, it is also discussed that the RAN should0 provide threshold values for when the wireless device should steer traffic back from

WLAN to 3GPP. The RAN rules/policies are expected to be specified in a 3GPP specification such as TS 36.304 v12.0.0 and/or TS 36.331 v12.1 .0.

With the above mechanism it is likely not wanted, or maybe not even feasible, that the wireless device considers any WLAN when deciding where to steer traffic. For5 example, it may not be feasible that the wireless device uses this mechanism to decide to steer traffic to a WLAN not belonging to the operator. Hence it has been proposed that the RAN should also indicate to the wireless device which WLANs the mechanism should be applied for by sending WLAN identifiers.

The RAN may also provide additional parameters which are used in Access network discovery and selection function (ANDSF) policies. ANDSF is an entity within an EPC of the SAE. The ANDSF assists wireless devices to discover non-3GPP access networks - such as Wi-Fi or WIMAX - that can be used for data communications in addition to 3GPP access networks, such as HSPA or LTE, and to provide the wireless device with ANDSF policies policing the connection to these different networks. One proposed parameter is the offloading preference indicator (OPI). One possibility for OPI is that it is compared to a threshold in the ANDSF policy to trigger different actions, another possibility is that OPI is used as a pointer to point and select different parts of the ANDSF policy which would then be used by the wireless device.

The assistance parameters, i.e. thresholds, WLAN identifiers, OPI, provided by RAN may be provided with dedicated signaling and/or broadcast signaling. Dedicated parameters can only be sent to the wireless device when having a valid Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection to the 3GPP RAN. A wireless device which has received dedicated parameters applies dedicated parameters; otherwise the wireless device applies the broadcast parameters. If no RRC connection is established between the wireless device and the RAN, the wireless device cannot receive dedicated parameters.

In 3GPP, it has been agreed that ANDSF should be enhanced for release-12 to use the thresholds and OPI parameters that are communicated by the RAN to the wireless device, and that if enhanced ANDSF policies are provided to the wireless device, the wireless device will use the ANDSF policies instead of the RAN rules/policies, i.e. ANDSF has precedence.

Tight Integration between 3GPP and WLAN

Within the scope of 3GPP Release-13, there has been a growing interest in realizing even tighter integration/aggregation between telecommunication or 3GPP and WLAN, for example, the same way as a carrier aggregation between multiple carriers in 3GPP is done but where the WLAN is used as one of the carriers. Such an aggregation is expected to make it possible for a more optimal aggregation opportunity as compared to MultiPath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP), as the aggregation is performed at a lower layer and as such the scheduling and flow control of the data on the WLAN and 3GPP links can be controlled by considering dynamic radio network conditions. Figure 1 illustrates three different protocol options of aggregation at the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) levels. The Figure 1 is showing the main principles for these three aggregation levels and additional functionality may be needed, for example in the PDCP-level aggregation, an additional protocol layer may be used between the PDCP layer and the 802.2 Logical Link Control (LLC) layer to convey information about the wireless device and the radio bearer the traffic is associated with, this additional protocol layer is shown as "Glue-1 " in Figures 2 and 3. Note that Figure 1 is showing the protocol stack at a wireless device. In the case of a standalone AP and eNB, i.e. AP and eNB are non co-located, the protocol stack for supporting aggregation is a little bit different, as the LLC frames have now to be relayed towards the standalone eNB. Figure 2 illustrates this for the case of PDCP level aggregation. In this case, once the LLC packet is decoded at the AP, in the uplink direction from the wireless device to the AP, and the AP realizes that this packet is a PDCP packet that has to be routed to an eNB, the forwarding can be performed via normal TCP/IP protocol stack. Figure 3 shows PDCP level aggregation with a co- located/combined eNB and AP.

Quality-of-Service (QoS) in 3GPP

Many services and subscribers share the same radio and network resources. Real-time services, e.g. voice, video etc., are sharing the same resources as non-realtime services, such as Internet browsing, file download etc. One challenge in this area is how to ensure QoS, e.g. bit rates, packet delays, packet loss, for Real-time Services. 3GPP EPS, i.e. both E-UTRAN and EPC, provides efficient QoS mechanisms to ensure that the user experience of different services sharing the same resources is acceptable. Examples of such mechanisms provided in 3GPP are:

Traffic Separation: Different traffic types receive different treatment, e.g. queuing, etc., in the telecommunication network;

3GPP provides both relative QoS and absolute QoS, using e.g. Guaranteed Bit Rates (GBR);

GBR based admission control is used to reserve resources before traffic is admitted into the telecommunication network or rejected otherwise;

Policy and Charging Control (PCC) determines what treatment to apply to the traffic streams. 3GPP defines the concept of a PDN; a Packet Data Network. A PDN is in most cases an IP network, e.g. Internet or an operator IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) service network. A PDN has one or more names; each name is defined in a string called Access Point Name (APN). A Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) is a gateway towards one or more PDNs. A wireless device may have one or more PDN connections. A PDN connection is a logical IP tunnel between the wireless device and the PGW, providing the wireless device access to a PDN. The setup of a PDN connection is initiated from the wireless device.

Every PDN connection consists of one or more bearers. See TS 23.401 v. 12.0.0 section 4.7.2 for a description of the bearer concept. A bearer uniquely identifies traffic flows that receive a common QoS treatment between a UE and a PGW. Each bearer on a particular access has a unique bearer ID. On the 3GPP access, the bearer is end-to-end between UE and PGW. Every PDN connection has at least one bearer and this bearer is called the default bearer. All additional bearers on the PDN connection are called dedicated bearers.

There are two types of bearers: GBR and non-GBR bearers. Every EPS bearer is associated with the following QoS parameters: QoS Class Identifier (QCI) and Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP). GBR bearers are in addition associated with bit rate parameters for Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) and Maximum Bit Rate (MBR). Non-GBR bearers do not have bearer-level bit rate parameters. Instead there is aggregate enforcement of all non-GBR bearers using Aggregate Maximum Bit Rates (AMBR), wherein APN-AMBR: defined per subscriber and Access Point Name (APN), and UE- AMBR: defined per subscriber. Quality-of-Service (QoS) in WLAN

Wi-Fi uses carrier-sense, multiple-access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA). Prior to transmitting a frame, CSMA/CA requires each wireless device to monitor the wireless channel for other Wi-Fi transmissions. If a transmission is in progress, the wireless device sets a back-off timer to a random interval, and tries again when the back- off timer expires. Once the channel is clear, the wireless device waits a short interval - an arbitration inter-frame space - before starting its transmission. Since all wireless devices follow the same set of rules, CSMA/CA ensures "fair" access to the wireless channel for all Wi-Fi devices.

In the past, WLANs were mainly used to transport low-bandwidth, data-application traffic. Currently, with the expansion of WLANs into vertical, such as retail, finance, and education, and enterprise environments, WLANs are used to transport high-bandwidth data applications, in conjunction with time-sensitive multimedia applications. This requirement led to the necessity for wireless QoS. Several vendors have supported proprietary wireless QoS schemes for voice applications. To speed up the rate of QoS adoption and to support multi-vendor time-sensitive applications, a unified approach to wireless QoS is necessary. The IEEE 802.1 1 e working group within the IEEE 802.1 1 standards committee has completed the standard definition back in 2005 and the 802.1 1 e amendment has long been part of the 802.1 1 standard.

Originally, data frames in 802.1 1 were sent using the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) see chapter 9.2.2 of 802.1 1 -2012. However, the DCF did not provide sufficient means for enabling QoS differentiation between different types of traffic or between different associated wireless devices. The 802.1 1 e amendment resolved this by introducing the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) by which a certain set of parameters could be adjusted in such a way so that a certain type of traffic is handled with a different priority than another, in the statistical sense. The set of parameters includes:

- The InterFrame Spacing (IFS)

The Contention Window size (CW); CWmin and CWmax, respectively the lowest and the highest number for the contention window

The Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) maximum allowed size

There are currently four different QoS differentiations in the 802.1 1 standard, and they are referred to as Access Categories (AC):

- AC_VO - Voice

- AC_VI - Video

- AC_BE - Best Effort

- AC_BK - Background

For each AC, there is a set of IFS, CW and TXOP limit values and all together, the values for the four access categories are referred to as EDCA Parameter Set.

Currently the WLAN Access point (AP) advertises the EDCA Parameter Set via the EDCA Parameter Set element, in the Beacon, Probe Response, Association Response or Re-association Response frames. Different QoS wireless devices e.g. STAs that support the 802.1 1 e mechanisms, that are associated or are in process of associating to an AP will use the EDCA parameters advertised by that AP for the uplink direction. In general the AP might choose to use different EDCA parameters for the downlink direction. The channel access timings, i.e., priorities, for the different ACs and also for non-QoS traffic differ.

The mechanism by which the AP currently delivers the EDCA parameters to the wireless device, called STA in WiFi, is shown on Figure 4.

The detailed procedure is described below:

Part A - Open System Authentication (OSA)

1 . The STA receives a Beacon frame revealing, among other parameters, the security features associated with an extended service set (ESS) the AP belongs to. The format of the beacon frame as well as all the information elements it carries are described in Chapter 8.3.3.2 of IEEE 802.1 1 -2012. The beacon frame carries a set of EDCA Parameters, which are applicable to all STAs in a basic service set (BSS) i.e. generic EDCA parameters, not STA specific.

2. If the STA does not receive a Beacon frame for some reason, it can generate a Probe Request and send it to the AP. This procedure is called active scanning and by performing it, the STA can receive from the AP the same information as it would have from a Beacon frame. The Probe Request frame is described in Chapter 8.3.3.9 of "Part 1 1 : Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications", IEEE Std. 802.1 1 -2012, IEEE Computer Society".

3. The AP answers with Probe Response - IEEE 802.1 1 -2012 ("Part 1 1 : Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications", IEEE Std. 802.1 1 -2012, IEEE Computer Society"), Chapter 8.3.3.10. The Probe Response carries a set of EDCA Parameters, which could be STA-specific.

a. NOTE: The discovery procedure consists of either step 1 or steps 2 and 3, i.e., receiving a Beacon frame and exchanging probe messages are mutually exclusive.

4. The STA sends an Open System Authentication Request as defined in Chapter 1 1 .2.3.2 of IEEE 802.1 1 ("Part 1 1 : Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications", IEEE Std. 802.1 1 -2012, IEEE Computer Society").

5. The AP responds with an Open System Authentication Response.

6. The STA then sends an Association Request, or a Re-association Request if the STA has been previously associated, indicating the security parameters to be used later. 7. The AP responds with an Association Response. The (Re)-association

Response carries a set of EDCA Parameters, which could be STA-specific.

8. At this point the Open System Authentication is completed and the STA can communicate only with the AP - the rest of the traffic is blocked by the Port- Based Network Control (PBNC) enforcer, as defined in IEEE 802.1 X. Some of the traffic towards external hosts, however, can be forwarded by the AP, as in the case of the communication with a RADIUS server.

Part B - 802.11 i authentication (EAP-SIM/AKA/AKA'/TLS/etc.)

The STA authenticates to the back-end authentication server using 802.1 1 i mechanism e.g. EAP-SIM/AKA/AKA7TLS, etc. Master keys are sent to the AP and generated in the STA.

Part C - Four-way handshake (FWH)

The STA and AP setup over-the-air encryption based on the master keys received on the previous step.

Part D - Exchange of encrypted data

The STA and AP can now exchange encrypted data.

Recently, discussions within 3GPP has begun to focus on a tighter integration, also sometimes known as aggregation, of telecommunication networks with WLANs. A tighter integration, or aggregation, of telecommunication networks such as cellular type networks configured to use licensed portions of the radio spectrum, with netowrks designed to use unlicensed portions of the radio spectrum, may substantially improve performance. For example, the integration of 3GPP access network components, such as the eNodeB (eNB) with the WLAN access networks may enable a dual mode capable mobile wireless device to use the licensed and unlicensed portions of the spectrum with minimal impact to the 3GPP core network elements. Such solution may in turn improve the overall user experience without degrading the Quality of Service (QoS), mobility, security, and/or power management when capacity is expanded to the unlicensed spectrum. Thus, a need to enable aggregation to improve the performance of the wireless communication network exist.

SUMMARY

An object of embodiments herein is thus to provide a mechanism that improves performance of a wireless communication network. The object may be achieved according to embodiments herein by providing a method performed by a second radio access node for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device in a wireless communication network. The wireless communication network comprises a first radio access node of a 5 first radio access technology providing the first link of the bearer to the wireless device and the second radio access node of a second radio access technology providing the second link of the bearer to the wireless device. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link. The second radio access node updates the setting by mapping a second quality of service o value to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node and/or a second condition of the second radio access node.

Furthermore, the object is achieved by providing a method performed by a first radio access node for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device in a wireless communication network. The wireless 5 communication network comprises the first radio access node of a first radio access technology providing the first link of the bearer to the wireless device and a second radio access node of a second radio access technology providing the second link of the bearer to the wireless device. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link. The first radio access0 node transmits to the second radio access node, a first condition indication. The first condition indication implies that the setting is updated to a second quality of service mapped to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node and/or a second condition of the second radio access node.

Additionally, the object is achieved by providing a second radio access node for5 handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device in a wireless communication network. The wireless communication network comprises a first radio access node of a first radio access technology configured to provide the first link of the bearer to the wireless device and the second radio access node of a second radio access technology, being configured to provide the second link of0 the bearer to the wireless device. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link. The second radio access node is configured to update the setting by mapping a second quality of service value to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node and/or a second condition of the second radio access node. Furthermore, the object is achieved by providing a first radio access node for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device in a wireless communication network. The wireless communication network comprises the first radio access node of a first radio access technology configured to provide the first link of the bearer to the wireless device and a second radio access node of a second radio access technology configured to provide the second link of the bearer to the wireless device. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link. The first radio access node is configured to transmit to the second radio access node, a first condition indication, which first condition indication implies that the setting is updated to a second quality of service value mapped to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node and/or a second condition of the second radio access node.

Embodiments herein provide a first and second link for traffic aggregation of a bearer to the wireless device enabling an improved performance. In addition, embodiments herein enable a dynamic maintenance of the overall QoS of aggregated traffic over the two radio access nodes by updating the setting to a second QoS value depending on the conditions, e.g. communication condition and/or load, of the different radio access nodes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure Different levels of tight integration/aggregation between 3GPP and

WLAN;

Figure 2 shows PDCP level aggregation with a standalone AP and eNB; Figure 3 shows PDCP level aggregation with a co-located/combined eNB and AP;

Figure 4 shows EDCA Parameters delivery mechanism;

Figure 5 shows a schematic overview depicting a wireless communication network according to embodiments herein;

Figure 6 shows a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to embodiments herein;

Figure 7 shows a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to embodiments herein; Figure 8 shows a schematic overview depicting a wireless communication network according to embodiments herein;

Figure 9 shows a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to embodiments herein;

Figure 10 shows a schemaitc flowchart depicting a method performed by a second radio access node according to embodiments herein;

Figure 1 1 shows a schemaitc flowchart depicting a method performed by a first radio access node according to embodiments herein;

Figure 12 shows a block diagram depicting a second radio access node

according to embodiments herein; and

Figure 13 shows a block diagram depicting a first radio access node

according to embodiments herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments herein relate to wireless communication networks in general. Figure 5 is a schematic overview depicting a wireless communication network 1 . The wireless communication network 1 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The wireless communication network 1 may use a number of different technologies, such as Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (GSM/EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations. The wireless communication network 1 is exemplified herein as an LTE network and a Wi-Fi network.

In the wireless communication network 1 , wireless devices e.g. a wireless device 10 and a second wireless device 11 , such as a mobile station, non-AP STA, STA, a user equipment and/or a wireless terminals, communicate via one or more Access Networks (AN), e.g. RANs, to one or more core networks (CN). It should be understood by the skilled in the art that "wireless device" is a non-limiting term which means any terminal, wireless communication terminal, user equipment, Machine Type

Communication (MTC) device, Device to Device (D2D) terminal, or node e.g. smart phone, laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small base station communicating within a cell. The wireless communication network 1 comprises a first radio access node 12 providing radio coverage over a cell area of a first radio access technology, such as LTE, UMTS or similar. The first radio access node 12 may be a base station, e.g. a radio base station such as a NodeB, an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), a base transceiver station, 5 Access Point Base Station, base station router, or any other network unit capable of communicating with a wireless device within the cell area served by the first radio access node 12 depending e.g. on the first radio access technology and terminology used. The first radio access node 12 may serve one or more cells.

Furthermore, the wireless communication network 1 comprises a second radio o access node 13 providing radio coverage over an area of a second radio access

technology, such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX or similar. The second radio access node 13 may be an Access Point (AP) such as a WLAN access point, Access Controller (AC), an AP STA, a stand-alone access point, access node, or similar. The wireless communication network 1 may further comprise a third radio access node 14 providing radio coverage over a 5 cell area of a radio access technology e.g. the first radio access technology, such as LTE, UMTS or similar. The first and third radio access nodes may be connected over an X2 connection or via a controller node or network. The first and second RAT may be different RATs.

The first radio access node 12 has one or more bearers for the wireless device 100 and is configured for traffic aggregation of e.g. one bearer of the bearers via a first and second link to the wireless device 10. The first radio access node 12 provides the first link of the bearer to the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 provides the second link of the bearer to the wireless device 10. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service (QoS) value, e.g. one or more5 EDCA parameters, mapped to the second link. According to embodiments herein the second radio access node 13 updates the setting by mapping a second QoS value to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or a second condition of the second radio access node 13. Thus, EDCA parameters of the second link may be updated without the need for the wireless device 10 to re-associate with the

0 second radio access node 13. The setting or QoS setting comprising the first QoS value of the second link may be set at a bearer level in the case of e.g. WLAN/3GPP

aggregation based on a QoS setting of the first RAT for the bearer. The first radio access node 12 may communicate the QoS setting of the first RAT of the bearer to the second radio access node 13, and the second radio access node 13 may map them to a QoS5 setting of the second RAT i.e. EDCA parameters such as the first QoS value may be associated with this bearer. In the UL, the situation is the same, except that the mappings are sent from the second radio access node 13 to the wireless device 10. Also, the wireless device 10 will be the one using the associated setting when sending data belonging to the bearer over the second link. It should be noted that the first link may be 5 associated with a third QoS value, e.g. the first QoS value or a different QoS value.

Embodiments herein enable, when e.g. Bearer level EDCA configuration of aggregated bearers have been performed, that QoS value mappings to the second link are made dynamically as the conditions in e.g. the 3GPP RAN or/and the WLAN are changing. For example, the load conditions on the 3GPP side might have increased and o as such, the overall QoS level of the aggregated bearer might degrade hurting user experience. Embodiments herein enable a dynamic maintenance of the overall QoS of aggregated traffic over two radio access nodes of different RATs by updating of the setting to the second QoS value depending on the conditions, e.g. communication condition and/or load, of the different radio access nodes.

5

Figure 6 shows a scenario where a single first radio access node 12, e.g. eNB, and single second radio access node 13, e.g. AP of a WLAN, and the wireless device 10 has links of the bearer. In this illustrated case, e.g. WLAN QoS parameters to be used for the link or links of the second radio access node 13 are modified based on condition

0 information available locally. In addition, the updated setting may also optionally be based on condition information received from the first radio access node 12. Such condition information may e.g. be the load communicated to the second radio access node 13, and then the second radio access node 13 may base the decision to modify the QoS value or parameters on this condition information. Furthermore, the decision may be based on the5 load created by other types of traffic routed by the second radio access node 13, e.g., local breakout traffic.

In a second scenario, there can be multiple wireless devices and multiple radio access nodes of the first RAT, such as the first and the third radio access nodes, and the second radio access node 13 of the second RAT. The description for the first embodiment0 applies and in addition the decision to modify the QoS value is also taking into account the situation in the first and third radio base stations. In one example, the second radio access node 13 would receive load information from the first and third radio access nodes. The second radio access node 13 may then make the decision to modify QoS value of the setting associated to the second link to optimize at a network level. For

5 example, if the first radio access node 12 is loaded compared to the second radio access node 13, then links from the first radio access node 12, going via the second radio access node 13, can be given higher QoS values e.g. priority EDCA settings, compared to other links of the second radio access node 13.

The following actions take place in Figure 6.

Action 61 . Initial actions may take place between the wireless device 10, the first radio access node 12 and the EPC. For EPC, only a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 16 is shown for clarity in the figure but other EPC nodes may also be involved. These intitial actions may include UE attachment to the EPC, PDN connection establishment signaling and any other Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling.

Action 62. The MME 16 configures a set of bearers in the first radio access node

12. This action may start for example with the sending of a message such as (S1 AP) INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST from the MME 16 to the first radio access node 12. A list of bearers is included in the message and a "QoS Profile" is included for each bearer. The first radio access node 12 stores the received set of bearers and the associated "QoS Profile". Additional signaling takes also place between the wireless device 10 and the first radio access node 12, e.g. configuration of Local Channel ID (LCID) for each bearer, and finally the first radio access node 12 replies to the MME 16.

Action 63. It is decided, e.g., by the first radio access node 12, the wireless device 10 or some other network entity, that the wireless device 10 should start aggregating traffic over the second radio access node 13, and aggregation initiation is performed between the first radio access node 12, the wireless device 10, and the second radio access node 13 (not shown). This decision may apply for all, one, or only for a subset of all the bearers for the wireless device 10. Then the mapping of the QoS parameters for the aggregated bearers between the first radio access node 12 and the second radio access node 13 is performed and the setting comprising QoS parameters such as the first QoS value will be enforced for the aggregated data flowing between the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 over the second link of the bearer. For example, corresponding EDCA is applied on aggregated traffic.

Action 64. The second radio access node 13 and the first radio access node 12 may exchange load and other network information relating to the condition of the respective radio access node. For example, in the case of co-located first radio access node 12 and second radio access node 13, such exchange may not be required. Even in the case of non-co-located first radio access node 12 and second radio access node 13, this exchange may not be required, because the wireless device 10 can be used to exchange load information, e.g. wireless device 10 reporting WLAN BSS load to the first radio access node 12. This could be performed, for example, either periodically or in an event triggered manner, e.g. when the load passes a certain threshold. The exchanged information may be just a figure that indicates the total load the nodes are experiencing, e.g. percentage load, or it could contain detailed information, e.g. the second radio access node 13 can provide something like total load: 70%, 20% due to direct traffic, 80% due to aggregated traffic, 30% of the aggregated traffic belongs to wireless devices belonging to the concerned first radio access node 12 while 70% of the aggregated traffic belongs to wireless devices belonging to other radio access nodes such as the third radio access node 14, etc. Another important aspect that could be considered here is also radio conditions, also referred herein as communication condition. For example, the first radio access node 12 may be unloaded, but a wireless device 10 might anyway be

experiencing bad radio conditions. Just exchanging the load of the first radio access node

12 will not do justice for the concerned wireless device 10 because the second radio access node 13 might decide to keep using the same QoS value as before for the aggregated traffic and the overall QoS of the aggregated bearer might not be met. In case there is only one wireless device's traffic that is being aggregated, it may be sufficient to scale the load reporting, i.e. if the aggregated wireless device 10 is having bad radio conditions, the load that the first radio access node 12 reports to the second radio access node 13 may be scaled up. However, multiple wireless devices may be performing traffic aggregation at the same time and it is very likely that the different wireless devices have different link quality towards the first radio access node 12. So the radio conditions of the different aggregating wireless devices may be communicated to the second radio access node 13, along with the load information, or wireless devices reporting signal quality of the first radio access node 12 to the second radio access node 13, etc.

Action 65. The second radio access node 13 updates the QoS value, e.g. one or more WLAN QoS parameters, of the second link of the aggregated bearer based on its own second condition, additionally or alternatively, also considering any condition information received from the first radio access node 12. For example, if the load in the second radio access node 13 is increasing, some of the links over the second link of the aggregated bearer may be downgraded to a lower priority/less aggressive EDCA setting, so that non-aggregated traffic over the second radio access node 13 could get more priority. As another example, if the second radio access node 13 has received information that the load in the first radio access node 12 is increasing, the second radio access node

13 may try to increase the priority or use more aggressive EDCA settings for the link of the aggregated bearer in order to compensate for the possible loss of quality over the first link to the first radio access node 12. Note that the updated setting may be for all or some of the aggregated traffic going via the second radio access node 13. As an example, consider the case where two bearers are aggregated and one of them has a setting of a QoS value such as EDCAJow and the other one has a setting of a QoS value such as 5 EDCA medium. The upgrade decision at the second radio access node 13 may be to upgrade the EDCAJow to EDCA medium for the traffic belonging to the first bearer via links, and keep the same EDCA medium setting for links of the second bearer.

The case when there is only one wireless device's traffic that is being handled is o shown in Figure 5, showing the first aggregation scenario, and Figure 6 and Figure 7 show the signaling involved in realizing this in two different ways, one way where the EDCA reconfiguration is completely controlled by the second radio access node 13 and one way where the updated settings or EDCA reconfiguration is controlled/recommended by the first radio access node 12, respectively.

5 The following actions take place in Figure 7.

Action 71 . Initial actions may take place between the wireless device 10, the first radio access node 12 and the EPC. For EPC, only the Mobility Management Entity (MME) 16 is shown for clarity in the figure but other EPC nodes may also be involved. These intitial actions may include UE attachment to the EPC, PDN connection establishment0 signaling and any other NAS signaling. This corresponds to action 61 in Figure 6.

Action 72. The MME 16 configures a set of bearers in the first radio access node 12. This action may start for example with the sending of a message such as (S1 AP) INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST from the MME 16 to the first radio access node 12. A list of bearers is included in the message and a "QoS Profile" is included for each

5 bearer. The first radio access node 12 stores the received set of bearers and the

associated "QoS Profile". Additional signaling may also take place between the wireless device 10 and the first radio access node 12, e.g. configuration of Local Channel ID (LCID) for each bearer, and finally the first radio access node 12 replies to the MME 16. This corresponds to action 62 in Figure 6.

0 Action 73. It is decided, e.g., by the first radio access node 12, the wireless device

10 or some other network entity, that the wireless device 10 should start aggregating traffic over the second radio access node 13, and aggregation initiation is performed between the first radio access node 12, the wireless device 10, and the second radio access node 13 (not shown). This decision may apply only for a subset of all the bearers5 for the wireless device 10. Then the mapping of the QoS parameters for the aggregated bearers between the first radio access node 12 and the second radio access node 13 is performed and the setting comprising QoS parameters such as the first QoS value will be enforced for the aggregated data flowing between the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 over the second link of the bearer. For example, corresponding 5 EDCA is applied on aggregated traffic. This corresponds to action 63 in Figure 6.

Action 74. The second radio access node 13 and the first radio access node 12 may exchange load and other network information relating to the condition of the respective radio access node. For example, in the case of co-located first radio access node 12 and second radio access node 13, such exchange may not be required. Even in o the case of non co-located first radio access node 12 and second radio access node 13, this might not be required, because the wireless device 10 can be used to exchange load information between the two, e.g. wireless device 10 reporting WLAN BSS load to the first radio access node 12. This could be performed, for example, either periodically or in an event triggered manner, e.g. when the load passes a certain threshold. This corresponds 5 partly to action 64 above except that the radio conditions are not needed at the second radio access node 13 as it is the first radio access node 12 that will be

recommending/requesting the updated setting for the second link of the bearer and as such may take into consideration the conditions of the wireless devices on the first radio access node 12 when doing so.

0 Action 75. The first radio access node 12 may then recommend the updated setting e.g. new EDCA recommendation, of the second link based on its load condition and also optionally considering any information received from the second radio access node 13. For example, if the load in the first radio access node 12 is increasing, the second link may need to be upgraded to a higher priority/more aggressive EDCA setting5 to compensate for the loss of quality over the first link to the first radio access node 12.

On the other hand, if the load in the first radio access node 12 is very low, and the load indication from the second radio access node 13 was high, the first radio access node 12 may recommend a lower priority/less aggressive EDCA settings for the second link in order to give more priority to non-aggregated traffic carried over the second radio access0 node 13. The updated setting may be provided to the second radio access node 13 either in absolute terms, i.e. explicit EDCA settings, or as a delta function telling the second radio access node 13 whether to increase or decrease the priority/aggressiveness. Note that the updated setting may be the same for all aggregated traffic, or it may be different from link to link of different bearers. Optionally, the second radio access node 13 may5 respond with an ACK or NACK telling whether the updated setting is acceptable or not. In the case of a NACK, the second radio access node 13 may optionally notify the first radio access node 12 with an additional setting that it is able to apply and the first radio access node 12 can agree or reject this additional setting, i.e. some kind of negotiation between the second radio access node 13 and the first radio access node 12 can be envisioned. 5 Action 76. The second radio access node 13 updates the setting of the second link e.g. reconfigured EDCA parameters for the aggregated traffic over the second link, e.g. as in action 65.

Note that the above figures and descriptions focused mainly on the DL aspects. For the UL direction, the situation is similar to the above, except that the UL EDCA

o parameters are sent to the wireless device 10 from the second radio access node 13 or the first radio access node 12. The wireless device 10 may also be used to initiate QoS changes on the DL. For example, if the wireless device 10 is given an updated setting for the UL e.g. UL EDCA upgrade/downgrade reconfiguration, from the first radio access node 12, the wireless device 10 may request new EDCA parameters from the second 5 radio access node 13 and optionally include a new UL EDCA configuration for the

concerned second link.

Figure 8 shows the second aggregation scenario where multiple wireless devices, such as the wireless device 10 and the second wireless device 1 1 , and multiple radio0 access nodes of the first RAT, such as the first radio access node 12 and the third radio access node 14, and the second radio access node 13 of the second RAT are

communicating and where a bearer is aggregated over links to the wireless device 10, these actions are marked as '_1 ', or the second wireless device 1 1 , these actions are marked as '_2'. Figure 9 shows an example of the signaling involved in realizing it.

5 The following actions take place in Figure 9.

Action 91_1 . Initial actions may take place between the wireless device 10, the first radio access node 12 and the EPC. For EPC, only the MME 16 is shown for clarity in the figure but other EPC nodes may also be involved. These initial actions may include UE attachment to the EPC, PDN connection establishment signaling and any other NAS

0 signaling. This corresponds to action 61 in Figure 6 and action 71 in Figure 7.

Action 92_1 . The MME 16 configures a set of bearers in the first radio access node 12. This action may start for example with the sending of a message such as (S1AP) INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST from the MME 16 to the first radio access node 12. A list of bearers is included in the message and a "QoS Profile" is included for5 each bearer, the QoS Profile comprises the first QoS value of the setting. The first radio access node 12 stores the received set of bearers and the associated "QoS Profile". Additional signaling may also take place between the wireless device 10 and the first radio access node 12, e.g. configuration of Local Channel ID (LCID) for each bearer, and finally the first radio access node 12 replies to the MME 16. This corresponds to action 62 in Figure 6 and 72 in Figure 7.

Action 91_2. Initial action may take place between the second wireless device 1 1 , the third radio access node 14 and the EPC comprising the MME 16. These initial actions may include UE attachment to the EPC, PDN connection establishment signaling and any other NAS signaling.

Action 92_2. The MME 16 configures a set of bearers in the third radio access node 14. This action may start for example with the sending of a message such as (S1AP) INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST from the MME 16 to the third radio access node 14. A list of bearers is included in the message and a "QoS Profile" is included for each bearer. The third radio access node 14 stores the received set of bearers and the associated "QoS Profile". Additional signaling may also take place between the second wireless device 1 1 and the third radio access node 14, e.g. configuration of LCID for each bearer, and finally the third radio access node 14 replies to the MME 16.

Action 93_1. It is decided, e.g., by the first radio access node 12, the wireless device 10 or some other network entity, that the wireless device 10 should start aggregating traffic over the second radio access node 13, and aggregation initiation is performed between the first radio access node 12, the wireless device 10, and the second radio access node 13 (not shown). This decision may apply only for a subset of all the bearers for the wireless device 10 or all bearers. Then the mapping of the QoS parameters for the aggregated bearers between the first radio access node 12 and the second radio access node 13 is performed and the setting comprising QoS parameters such as the first QoS value will be enforced for the aggregated data flowing between the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 over the second link of the bearer. For example, corresponding EDCA is applied on aggregated traffic. This corresponds to action 63 in Figure 6 and action 73 in Figure 7.

Action 93_2. It is decided, e.g., by the third radio access node 14, the second wireless device 1 1 or some other network entity, that the second wireless device 1 1 should start aggregating traffic over the second radio access node 13, and aggregation initiation is performed between the third radio access node 14, the second wireless device 1 1 , and the second radio access node 13 (not shown). This decision may apply only for a subset of all the bearers for the wireless device 10 or all bearers. Then the mapping of the QoS parameters for the aggregated bearers between the first radio access node 12 and the second radio access node 13 is performed and the setting comprising QoS parameters such as the first QoS value will be enforced for the aggregated data flowing between the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 over the second 5 link of the bearer. For example, corresponding EDCA is applied on aggregated traffic.

Action 94. The second radio access node 13 and the first and third radio access nodes may exchange load and other network information relating to the condition of the respective radio access node. For example, in the case of co-located first/third radio access node and second radio access node 13, such exchange may not be required.

1 o Even in the case of non-co-located first/third radio access node and second radio access node 13, this might not be required, because the wireless device 10 can be used to exchange load information between the radio access nodes, e.g. second wireless device 1 1 may report WLAN BSS load to the third radio access node 14. This could be performed, for example, either periodically or in an event triggered manner, e.g. when the

1 5 load passes a certain threshold. The exchanged information may be just a figure that indicates the total load the nodes are experiencing, e.g. percentage load, or it could contain detailed information, e.g. the second radio access node 13 can provide something like total load: 70%, 20% due to direct traffic, 80% due to aggregated traffic, 30% of the aggregated traffic belongs to wireless devices belonging to the concerned first radio

20 access node 12 while 70% of the aggregated traffic belongs to wireless devices belonging to the third radio access node 14, etc. Another important aspect that could be considered here is also radio conditions also referred herein as communication condition. For example, the third radio access node 14 may be unloaded, but the second wireless device 1 1 might anyway be experiencing bad radio conditions. Just exchanging the load of the

25 third radio access node 14 will not do justice for the concerned second wireless device 1 1 because the second radio access node 13 may decide to keep using the same QoS value as before for the aggregated traffic and the overall QoS of the aggregated bearer might not be met. In case there is only one wireless device's traffic that is being aggregated, it may be sufficient to scale the load reporting, i.e. if the aggregated second wireless device

30 1 1 is having bad radio conditions, the load that the third radio access node 14 reports to the second radio access node 13 may be scaled up. The radio conditions of the different aggregating wireless devices may be communicated to the second radio access node 13, along with the load information, or wireless devices reporting signal quality of the first/third radio access node to the second radio access node 13, etc. This corresponds at least

35 partly to action 64 in Figure 6 and action 74 in Figure 7. Action 95. The second radio access node 13 updates the setting to a different QoS value, e.g. one or more WLAN QoS parameters, of the second link of the aggregated bearer based on its first condition, optionally also considering any condition information received from the first radio access node 12. This correspond to action 65 in Figure 6, 5 however, in this case, the decision to modify the setting of the second link of the bearer of the wireless device 10 and the second wireless device 1 1 is also taking into account the situation in the first and third radio access nodes. Based on the load information it has got from both the first and third radio access nodes, as well as its own load, the second radio access node 13 may then make the decision to modify QoS value of the second links of o the first and third radio access nodes. For example, if the first radio access node 12 is loaded compared to third radio access node 14, then the second link of the bearer of wireless device 10 may be given a higher priority or more aggressive EDCA settings, and/or the second link of the bearer of second wireless device 1 1 may be given a lower priority or less aggressive EDCA settings.

5 A similar approach to that of Figure 7, where the updated setting is

controlled/recommended by the first/third radio access node could also be applicable in this scenario. The main difference here from that of Figure 7 is that updated settings are coming from multiple radio access nodes. The second radio access node 13 may address these updated settings independently one by one as they come, or consider them

0 together and prioritize based on the load/radio conditions of the corresponding radio access nodes assuming the updated settings are received within a certain time window. Yet another alternative could be for the second radio access node 13, upon getting a updated setting from the first radio access node 12, poll the other neighboring third radio access node 14 for any updated settings so that it can consider all aggregated traffic at5 once.

For the UL direction, the situation is similar to that of the description of the UL for Figure 6.

The method actions performed by the second radio access node 13, exemplified as0 an AP of a WLAN in the figures, for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to the wireless device 10 in a wireless communication network 1 for according to some embodiments will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Figure 10. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked5 with dashed boxes. The wireless communication network 1 comprises the first radio access node 12 of a first radio access technology, e.g. LTE, providing the first link of the bearer to the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 of a second radio access technology, e.g. WLAN, providing the second link of the bearer to the wireless device 10. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link. A condition may be represented by a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link. E.g. a first condition may be a first load or first communication condition etc.

Action 1001. The second radio access node 13 may receive a first condition indication from the first radio access node 12 and/or the wireless device 10. The first condition indication may e.g. be: a reported first condition of the first radio access node 12 from the first radio access node 12 such as an actual load or relative load indication; a signalled indication from the wireless device 10 such as a signal report from the wireless device 10; and/or an updated setting from the first radio access node 12 associated with the second condition of the second radio access node 13 and/or the first condition of the first radio access node 12. This is exemplified in the actions 64, 74, and 94 above.

Action 1002. The second radio access node 13 may determine the first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or the second condition of the second radio access node 13. In some embodiments wherein the first condition indication is the reported first condition of the first radio access node 12 from the first radio access node 12, the second radio access node 13 determines the first condition based on the received first condition indication. In some embodiments wherein the first condition indication is the signalled indication from the wireless device 10, the second radio access node 13 determines the first condition based on the received first condition indication.

Action 1003. The second radio access node 13 may transmit to the first radio access node 12, a second condition indication indicating the determined second condition. This is exemplified in the actions 64, 74, and 94 above.

Action 1004. The second radio access node 13 may receive a third condition indication from the first radio access node 12, the third radio access node 14, the second wireless device 1 1 and/or the wireless device 10. The third condition indication may indicate a third condition of the third radio access node 14. The third condition indication may be similar to the first condition indication but for the third radio access node 14. This is exemplified in action 94 above.

Action 1005. The second radio access node 13 updates the setting by mapping the second QoS value to the second link based on the first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or the second condition of the second radio access node 13. The second radio access node 13 may update the setting based on the received first condition indication in action 1001 . The setting may be updated based on the condition which may be indicated from the wireless device 10 with a condition indication such as poor RSSI etc. In some embodiments wherein the first condition indication is an updated setting from 5 the first radio access node 12 associated with the second condition of the second radio access node 13 and/or the first condition of the first radio access node 12, the second radio access node 13 updates the setting based on the received updated setting. The second radio access node 13 may update the setting by mapping the second QoS value to the second link based on the third condition of the third radio access node 14. This is o exemplified in actions 65, 76, and 95 above.

It should be noted that the second/third condition indication may be: a reported second/third condition of the second/third radio access node from the second/third radio access node such as an actual load or relative load indication; or a signalled indication from the wireless device 10 or second wireless device 1 1 such as a signal report from the 5 wireless device 10 or second wireless device 1 1 .

The method actions performed by the first radio access node 13, exemplified as a radio base station of a telecommunication RAT in the figures, for handling traffic aggregation of the bearer over the first link and the second link to the wireless device 100 in the wireless communication network 1 according to some embodiments will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Figure 11 . The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked with dashed boxes. The wireless communication network 1 comprises the first radio access node 12 of a first radio access5 technology providing the first link of the bearer to the wireless device 10 and a second radio access node 13 of a second radio access technology providing the second link of the bearer to the wireless device 10. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link.

Action 1101 . The first radio access node 12 may receive from the second radio0 access node 13 the second condition indication indicating the second condition of the second radio access node 13.This is exemplified in actions 64, 74, and 94 above

Action 1102. The first radio access node 12 may determine the first condition of the first radio access node 12. E.g. the first radio access node 12 may determine load based on local information or on a signalling report from the wireless device 10 or another5 wireless device. Action 1103. The first radio access node 12 may determine to update the setting to the updated setting based on the received second condition indication, see action 1 101 , and the determined first condition, see action 1 102. The first radio access node 12 may further receive the third condition indication from the third radio access node 14 and thus 5 take this third condition indication into account when determining to update the setting to the updated setting.

Action 1104. The first radio access node 12 transmits to the second radio access node 13, a first condition indication. The first condition indication implies that the setting is updated to a second QoS mapped to the second link based on a first condition of the first o radio access node 12 and/or a second condition of the second radio access node 13. The first condition indication may be the determined first condition, e.g. load, in action 1 102 of the first radio access node 12 to be taken into account when updating the setting at the second radio access node 13. The first condition indication may be an updated setting, e.g. EDCA setting, to the second radio access node 13, which updated setting is

5 associated with the second condition of the second radio access node 13 and/or the first condition of the first radio access node 12. This is exemplified in actions 64, 74, 75, and 94 above.

As stated above the condition may be represented by a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link.

0

Figure 12 shows the second radio access node 13 configured to perform the methods herein. The second radio access node 13 for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device 10 in the wireless communication network 1 is shown in Fig. 12. The wireless communication network 15 comprises the first radio access node 12 of a first radio access technology configured to provide the first link of the bearer to the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 of a second radio access technology configured to provide the second link of the bearer to the wireless device 10. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link.

0 The second radio access node 13 is configured to update the setting by mapping a second quality of service value to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or a second condition of the second radio access node 13.

The second radio access node 13 may further be configured to determine the first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or the second condition of the second radio5 access node 13. The second radio access node 13 may further be configured to receive a first condition indication from the first radio access node 12 and/or the wireless device 10, and may further be configured to update the setting based on the received first condition indication. The first condition indication may be an updated setting, e.g. an updated EDCA parameter, from the first radio access node 12 associated with the second condition of the second radio access node 13 and/or the first condition of the first radio access node 12. Alternatively or additionally, the first condition indication may be a reported first condition, e.g. load value or similar, of the first radio access node 12 from the first radio access node 12, then, the second radio access node 13 is further configured to determine the first condition based on the received first condition indication. Alternatively or additionally, the first condition indication is a signalled indication from the wireless device 10, e.g. signal strength or similar, and wherein the second radio access node 13 is further configured to determine the first and/or second condition based on the received first condition indication.

The second radio access node 13 may further be configured to transmit to the first radio access node 12, a second condition indication indicating the determined second condition, e.g. the load value of the second radio access node 13, reported signal strength of the second radio access node 13 or similar. The second condition indication may be a reported radio condition such as measured signal strength, a load indication or similar of the second radio access node 13.

The second radio access node 13 may further be configured to receive a third condition indication and the third condition indication indicates a third condition of the third radio access node 14, and the second radio access node 13 also being configured to update the setting by mapping the second quality of service value to the second link based on the third condition of the third radio access node 14. The third condition indication may be received from the third radio access node 14, from/via the first radio access node 12, from the second wireless device 1 1 and/or from the wireless device 10. The third condition indication may be a reported radio condition such as measured signal strength, a load indication or similar of the third radio access node 14. A condition may be represented by a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link.

The second radio access node 13 may comprise processing circuitry 1201 configured to perform the methods herein. The second radio access node 13 may comprise an updating module 1202. The processing circuitry 1201 and/or the updating module 1202 may be configured to update the setting by mapping the second quality of service value to the second link based on the first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or the second condition of the second radio access node 13.

The second radio access node 13 may comprise a determining module 1203. The processing circuitry 1201 and/or the determining module 1203 may be configured to 5 determine the first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or the second condition of the second radio access node 13.

The second radio access node 13 may comprise a receiving module 1204. The processing circuitry 1201 and/or the receiving module 1204 may be configured to receive the first condition indication from the first radio access node 12 and/or the wireless device

1 0 10. The processing circuitry 1201 and/or the updating module 1202 may then be

configured to update the setting based on the received first condition indication. The first condition indication may be an updated setting, e.g. an updated EDCA parameter, received from the first radio access node 12 associated with the second condition of the second radio access node 13 and/or the first condition of the first radio access node 12.

1 5 Alternatively or additionally, the first condition indication may be a reported first condition, e.g. load value or similar, of the first radio access node 12 received from the first radio access node 12, then, the processing circuitry 1201 and/or the determining module 1203 may be configured to determine the first condition based on the received first condition indication. Alternatively or additionally, the first condition indication is a signalled indication

20 from the wireless device 10, e.g. signal strength or similar, and then the processing

circuitry 1201 and/or the determining module 1203 may be configured to determine the first and/or second condition based on the received first condition indication.

The second radio access node 13 may comprise a transmitting module 1205. The processing circuitry 1201 and/or the transmitting module 12005 may be configured to

25 transmit to the first radio access node 12, the second condition indication indicating the determined second condition, e.g. the load value of the second radio access node 13, reported signal strength of the second radio access node 13 or similar.

The processing circuitry 1201 and/or the receiving module 1204 may be configured to receive the third condition indication and the third condition indication indicates the third

30 condition of the third radio access node 14, and the second radio access node 13 also being configured to update the setting by mapping the second quality of service value to the second link based on the third condition of the third radio access node 14. The third condition indication may be received from the third radio access node 14, from/via the first radio access node 12, from the second wireless device 1 1 and/or from the wireless device 10. The third condition indication may be a reported radio condition such as measured signal strength, a load indication or similar of the third radio access node 14.

The second radio access node 13 comprises a memory 1206. The memory comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as load values, QoS

5 values, condition values, settings, condition indications, applications to perform the

methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar.

The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the second radio access node 13 may respectively be implemented by means of e.g. a computer program

1 0 1207 or a computer program product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second radio access node 13. The computer program 1207 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1208, e.g. a disc or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1208, having stored

1 5 thereon the computer program, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second radio access node 13. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

20

Figure 13 shows the first radio access node 12 configured to perform the methods herein, i.e. the first radio access node 12 for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device 10 in the wireless communication network 1 . The wireless communication network 1 comprises the first radio access node

25 12 of a first radio access technology configured to provide the first link of the bearer to the wireless device 10 and the second radio access node 13 of a second radio access technology configured to provide the second link of the bearer to the wireless device 10. The second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link.

30 The first radio access node 12 is configured to transmit to the second radio access node 13, a first condition indication, which first condition indication implies that the setting is updated to a second quality of service value mapped to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node 12 and/or a second condition of the second radio access node 13. The first radio access node 12 may be configured to determine the first condition of the first radio access node 12. The first condition indication may be the determined first condition of the first radio access node 12 to be taken into account when updating the setting at the second radio access node 13. The first condition indication may be an

5 updated setting to the second radio access node 13, which updated setting is associated with the second condition of the second radio access node 13 and/or the first condition of the first radio access node 12.

The first radio access node 12 may be configured to receive from the second radio access node 13 the second condition indication indicating the second condition of the o second radio access node 13. The first radio access node 12 may then be configured to determine to update the setting to the updated setting based on the received second condition indication and the determined first condition. A condition may be represented by a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link.

The first radio access node 12 may comprise processing circuitry 1301

5 configured to perform the methods herein. The first radio access node 12 may comprise a transmitting module 1302. The processing circuitry 1301 and/or the transmitting module 1302 may be configured to transmit to the second radio access node 13, a first condition indication, which first condition indication implies that the setting is updated to a second quality of service value mapped to the second link based on a first condition of the first0 radio access node 12 and/or a second condition of the second radio access node 13.

The first radio access node 12 may comprise a determining module 1303. The processing circuitry 1301 and/or the determining module 1303 may be configured to determine the first condition of the first radio access node 12. The first condition indication may be the determined first condition of the first radio access node 12 to be taken into5 account when updating the setting at the second radio access node 13. The first condition indication may be an updated setting to the second radio access node 13, which updated setting is associated with the second condition of the second radio access node 13 and/or the first condition of the first radio access node 12.

The first radio access node 12 may comprise a receiving module 1304. The

0 processing circuitry 1301 and/or the receiving module 1304 may be configured to receive from the second radio access node 13, the second condition indication indicating the second condition of the second radio access node 13. The processing circuitry 1301 and/or the determining module 1303 may then be configured to determine to update the setting to the updated setting based on the received second condition indication and the5 determined first condition. The first radio access node 12 comprises a memory 1305. The memory comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as load values, QoS values, condition values, settings, condition indications, applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed, and similar.

The methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first radio access node 12 may respectively be implemented by means of e.g. a computer program 1306 or a computer program product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first radio access node 12. The computer program 1306 may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1307, e.g. a disc or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1307, having stored thereon the computer program, may comprise the instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first radio access node 12. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, that functions means or modules may be implemented using digital logic and/or one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some

embodiments, several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate devices with appropriate hardware and/or software interfaces between them. Several of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components of a radio access node or network node, for example. Receiving modules and transmitting modules may comprise receivers, transmitters, transceivers, communication interfaces or similar.

Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware. Thus, the term "processor" or "controller" as used herein does not exclusively refer to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random-access memory for storing software and/or program or application data, and non-volatile memory. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included. Designers of communications receivers will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance tradeoffs inherent in these design choices.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such, the inventive apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1 . A method performed by a second radio access node (13) for handling traffic

aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device (10) in a wireless communication network (1 ); wherein the wireless communication network 5 comprises a first radio access node (12) of a first radio access technology providing the first link of the bearer to the wireless device (10) and the second radio access node (13) of a second radio access technology providing the second link of the bearer to the wireless device (10), and wherein the second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link; the o method comprising:

updating (1005) the setting by mapping a second quality of service value to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node (12) and/or a second condition of the second radio access node (13). 5

2. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising

- determining (1002) the first condition of the first radio access node (12) and/or the second condition of the second radio access node (13).

3. A method according to any of claims 1 and 2, comprising

0 - receiving (1001 ) a first condition indication from the first radio access node (12) and/or the wireless device (10) and wherein the updating (1005) the setting is based on the received first condition indication.

4. A method according to the claim 3, wherein the first condition indication is an updated5 setting from the first radio access node (12) associated with the second condition of the second radio access node (13) and/or the first condition of the first radio access node (12).

5. A method according to claims 2 and 3, wherein the first condition indication is a

0 reported first condition of the first radio access node (12) from the first radio access node (12), and wherein the determining (1002) the first condition is based on the received first condition indication.

6. A method according to claim 3, wherein the first condition indication is a signalled indication from the wireless device (10), and wherein the determining (1002) the first and/or second condition is based on the received first condition indication.

5 7. A method according to any of the claims 3-6, further comprising

- receiving (1004) a third condition indication from the first radio access node (12), a third radio access node (14), a second wireless device (1 1 ) and/or the wireless device (10) and the third condition indication indicates a third condition of the third radio access node (14), wherein the updating (1005) the setting by mapping the 1 0 second quality of service value to the second link is further based on the third condition of the third radio access node (14).

8. A method according to any of the claims 2-7, comprising

transmitting (1003) to the first radio access node (12), a second condition

1 5 indication indicating the determined second condition.

9. A method according to any of the claims 1 -8, wherein a condition is represented by a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link.

20 10. A method performed by a first radio access node (12) for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device (10) in a wireless communication network (1 ); wherein the wireless communication network (1 ) comprises the first radio access node (12) of a first radio access technology providing the first link of the bearer to the wireless device (10) and a second radio access node 25 (13) of a second radio access technology providing the second link of the bearer to the wireless device (10), and wherein the second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link; the method comprising:

transmitting (1 104) to the second radio access node (13), a first condition

30 indication, which first condition indication implies that the setting is updated to a second quality of service mapped to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node (12) and/or a second condition of the second radio access node (13).

35 1 1 . A method according to claim 10, comprising - determining (1 102) the first condition of the first radio access node (12).

12. A method according to claim 1 1 , wherein the first condition indication is the

determined first condition of the first radio access node (12) to be taken into account

5 when updating the setting at the second radio access node (13).

13. A method according to any of claims 10-1 1 , wherein the first condition indication is an updated setting to the second radio access node (13), which updated setting is associated with the second condition of the second radio access node (13) and/or the o first condition of the first radio access node (12).

14. A method according to claims 1 1 and 13, further comprising

- receiving (1 101 ) from the second radio access node (13) a second condition

indication indicating the second condition of the second radio access node (13);5 and

- determining (1 103) to update the setting to the updated setting based on the

received second condition indication and the determined first condition.

15. A method according to any of the claims 10-14, wherein a condition is represented by0 a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link.

16. A second radio access node (13) for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device (10) in a wireless communication network (1 ); wherein the wireless communication network (1 ) comprises a first radio5 access node (12) of a first radio access technology configured to provide the first link of the bearer to the wireless device (10) and the second radio access node (13) of a second radio access technology being configured to provide the second link of the bearer to the wireless device (10), and wherein the second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second0 link; the second radio access node (13) being configured to:

update the setting by mapping a second quality of service value to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node (12) and/or a second condition of the second radio access node (13).

17. A second radio access node (13) according to claim 16, further being configured to determine the first condition of the first radio access node (12) and/or the second condition of the second radio access node (13).

5 18. A second radio access node (13) according to any of the claims 16-17, further being configured to receive a first condition indication from the first radio access node (12) and/or the wireless device (10), and further being configured to update the setting based on the received first condition indication.

1 0 19. A second radio access node (13) according to the claim 18, wherein the first condition indication is an updated setting from the first radio access node (12) associated with the second condition of the second radio access node (13) and/or the first condition of the first radio access node (12).

1 5 20. A second radio access node (13) according to claim 17 and 18, wherein the first

condition indication is a reported first condition of the first radio access node (12) from the first radio access node (12) and wherein the second radio access node (13) is further configured to determine the first condition based on the received first condition indication.

20

21 . A second radio access node (13) according to claims 17 and 18, wherein the first condition indication is a signalled indication from the wireless device (10) and wherein the second radio access node (13) is further configured to determine the first and/or second condition based on the received first condition indication..

25

22. A second radio access node (13) according to any of the claims 17-21 , further being configured to receive a third condition indication from the first radio access node (12), a third radio access node (14), a second wireless device (1 1 ) and/or the wireless device (10) and the third condition indication indicates a third condition of the third

30 radio access node (14), and the second radio access node (13) also being configured to update the setting by mapping the second quality of service value to the second link based on the third condition of the third radio access node (14).

23. A second radio access node (13) according to any of the claims 17-22, being

35 configured to transmit to the first radio access node (12), a second condition indication indicating the determined second condition.

24. A second radio access node (13) according to any of the claims 17-23, wherein a condition is represented by a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link.

5

25. A first radio access node (12) for handling traffic aggregation of a bearer over a first link and a second link to a wireless device (10) in a wireless communication network (1 ); wherein the wireless communication network (1 ) comprises the first radio access node (12) of a first radio access technology configured to provide the first link of the

1 o bearer to the wireless device (10) and a second radio access node (13) of a second radio access technology configured to provide the second link of the bearer to the wireless device (10), and wherein the second link is associated with a setting, which setting comprises a first quality of service value mapped to the second link; the first radio access node (12) being configured to transmit to the second radio access node

1 5 (13), a first condition indication, which first condition indication implies that the setting is updated to a second quality of service value mapped to the second link based on a first condition of the first radio access node (12) and/or a second condition of the second radio access node (13).

20 26. A first radio access node (12) according to claim 25, being configured to determine the first condition of the first radio access node (12).

27. A first radio access node (12) according to claim 26, wherein the first condition

indication is the determined first condition of the first radio access node (12) to be

25 taken into account when updating the setting at the second radio access node (13).

28. A first radio access node (12) according to any of claims 25-26, wherein the first condition indication is an updated setting to the second radio access node (13), which updated setting is associated with the second condition of the second radio access

30 node (13) and/or the first condition of the first radio access node (12).

29. A first radio access node (12) according to claims 26 and 28, being configured to receive from the second radio access node (13) a second condition indication indicating the second condition of the second radio access node (13); and to determine to update the setting to the updated setting based on the received second condition indication and the determined first condition.

30. A first radio access node (12) according to any of the claims 25-29, wherein a

condition is represented by a load of a radio access node and/or a communication condition of a link.