WO2020228966A1

WO2020228966A1 - Technique for grouping terminal devices based on network data analytics information

Info

Publication number: WO2020228966A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/064294
Authority: WO
Inventors: Miguel Angel PUENTE PESTAÑA
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2019-05-14
Filing date: 2019-06-03
Publication date: 2020-11-19
Also published as: EP3970402A1

Abstract

Techniques for grouping terminal devices of a communication network into one or more device groups based on network data analytics, NWDA, information shared by the terminal devices in each group is provided. An apparatus realization of this technique is adapted to obtain, for a terminal device having a device identifier, NWDA information gathered in the communication network for the terminal device and to determine, based on the obtained NWDA information, that the terminal device belongs to a group of terminal devices that is associated with the NWDA information, wherein the group of terminal devices has a group identifier. The apparatus is further configured to send a notification message comprising the device identifier and the group identifier.

Description

Technique for Grouping Terminal Devices based on Network Data Analytics

Information

Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to network data analytics (NWDA). In particular, a technique for grouping terminal devices of a communication network into one or more device groups based on NWDA information is presented. The technique may be implemented in the form of an apparatus, a method, a network system, and a computer program product.

Background

NWDA has been an important tool for planning and operating legacy wireless communication networks and will also be implemented in wireless communication networks of the 5^th generation (5G networks). The core network domain of 5G networks introduces an analytics function called network data analytics function (NWDAF). NWDAF is described in greater detail in sections 4.19 and 5.2.11 of the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 23.502 V15.3.0 (2018-09).

In brief, NWDAF collects and analyses data from different data sources such as network functions (NFs) that provide network services to individual terminal devices or to other network service recipients. The collected and possibly enriched data can be retrieved from the NWDAF as NWDA information. As an example, NWDAF provides the NWDA information as a service to any NF located in the same public land mobile network (PLMN) as the NWDAF.

One NF-type data source for NWDAF are so-called user plane functions (UPFs) that handle user data traffic and may include deep packet inspection (DPI) capabilities. From the UPFs, NDA information including user plane information pertaining to applications run by terminal devices (such as Internet of Things, IoT, devices or mobile user devices), metric information (such as traffic key performance indicators, KPIs, like throughput and latency) and UPF load information may thus be gathered by NWDAF. UPFs may also provide digested NDA information including application usage statistics, UPF load patterns and predictions, user quality of experience (QoE) information, and so on. Other data sources for NWDAF include an operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) system of the PLMN, data sources external to the PLMN, and others.

Service consumers such as a policy control function (PCF) may subscribe and unsubscribe at NWDAF to be notified on load level information on a network slice instance. The subscription may result in either periodic notifications or notifications when a load threshold is exceeded. The PCF (or other service consumer) may then perform policy decisions based on the load level information obtained for a specific network slice instance.

Currently, NWDAF provides NWDA information to the NFs on a "per user" basis (i.e., per individual terminal device). This fact renders it complicated for network operators to apply common actions or policies to sets of terminal devices that show a similar behaviour.

As an exemplary use case, a network operator may wish to assign the same UPF to all terminal devices traversing the same highway or being regularly operated in the same geographical zone. In order to implement such a use case using the currently standardized 3GPP analytics solutions, the NF deciding about the actions for a certain terminal device (e.g., a session management function, SMF, for UPF selection) needs to get the available NWDA information from NWDAF. This procedure has to be performed in parallel by a large number of NFs for a large number of terminal devices. In a further step, all NFs need to analyse the NWDA information obtained for the terminal devices and need to take the same action(s) based on similarities between the NWDA information associated with the terminal devices.

Evidently, such an approach is not very efficient. Moreover, it cannot easily be assured that different NFs take the same action for terminal devices associated with similar NWDA information. One reason for a selection of different actions resides in the fact that the NFs may individually apply machine learning algorithms that give rise to different actions in spite of similar input.

Summary

There is a need for a technique for facilitating an efficient handling of multiple terminal devices associated with similar NWDA information. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus is provided for grouping terminal devices of a communication network into one or more device groups based on network data analytics, NWDA, information shared by the terminal devices in each group. The apparatus is adapted to obtain, for a terminal device having a device identifier, NWDA information gathered in the communication network for the terminal device and to determine, based on the obtained NWDA information, that the terminal device belongs to a group of terminal devices that is associated with the NWDA information, wherein the group of terminal devices has a group identifier. The apparatus is further configured to send a notification message comprising the device identifier and the group identifier.

The NWDA information may, for example, be collected in at least one of a core network portion of the communication network and a radio access network portion of the communication network. The NWDA information may pertain to one or more of terminal device location, terminal device mobility, service usage by terminal devices, and so on.

The apparatus may be adapted to receive a notification request including the device identifier of the user terminal. The notification request may be received from a NF. With the notification request, the NF may in one variant wish to subscribe to grouping-related notification messages for the user terminal. The apparatus may further be adapted to send the notification message in response to the notification request. The notification message may in one variant be sent in each case the user terminal is included in a new or existing group of terminal devices.

Additionally, or in the alternative, the apparatus may be adapted to send the notification message to a database so as to trigger registration of the group identifier in a database entry associated with the device identifier. The database may contain subscription information associated with the terminal device via its device identifier. The database may be implemented as or may be accessible by a unified data repository (UDR). The notification message may in one variant be sent in each case the user terminal is included in a new or existing group of terminal devices.

The NWDA information obtained for the terminal device may comprise for at least one NWDA parameter an associated NWDA parameter value. As an example, the NWDA parameter may be "location" and the NWDA parameter value may be indicative of the current location of the terminal device (e.g., in the form of its geographical position, in the form of a network component, such as a base station, or cell currently serving the terminal device, and so on). It will be appreciated that the NWDA parameter may take many different forms, including "time", for example in combination with the NWDA parameter "location". Other NWDA parameters include traffic type, service(s) used, mobility events (e.g., handover events),

The apparatus is adapted to analyze the NWDA parameter value to determine that the terminal device belongs to the group of terminal devices. Based on the NWDA parameter combination "time" and at least one of "location" and "mobility events", for example, mobility patterns of terminal devices may be analyzed so as to group the terminal devices into different groups associated with different mobility patterns. These mobility pattern-related groupings may later be used to predict where terminal devices will be located in future.

The NWDA parameter may be associated with an NWDA parameter identifier, such as a numerical or any other identifier. As an option, in some cases the NWDA parameter value itself may constitute the NWDA parameter identifier. If, for example, the NWDA parameter value is indicative of the current location of the terminal and takes the form of a base station or cell identifier, the base station or cell dentifier could at the same time be used as the NWDA parameter identifier. The apparatus may be adapted to send the NWDA parameter identifier together with the device identifier and the group identifier (e.g., in the notification message).

The group of terminal devices may be associated with at least one NWDA parameter and with at least one of a parameter value range and a parameter value set for the NWDA parameter. The apparatus may be adapted to determine that the terminal device belongs to the group of terminal devices if the NWDA parameter value falls within the associated parameter value range or the parameter set. As an example, the terminal device group may consist of all terminal devices having the same location (NWDA parameter) in terms of a particular base station or cell identifier (NWDA parameter value and, optionally, NWDA parameter identifier), wherein this base station or cell identifier constitutes a parameter value set that consists of a single parameter value (i.e., the base station identifier). In practice, the terminal device group will often be associated with multiple NWDA parameters (e.g., time and location), each associated with a dedicated parameter value range or parameter value set. The apparatus may be adapted to maintain a first mapping between NWDA parameter identifiers and at least one of device identifiers and group identifiers. The first mapping may take the form of a data structure (e.g., a table) or a function.

The apparatus may be adapted to receive a request including one or more NWDA parameter identifiers. The apparatus may further be configured to consult the first mapping to identify at least one group identifier associated with the received one or more NWDA parameter identifiers, and to return the identified at least one group identifier. As an example, the request including the one or more NWDA parameter identifiers may have been transmitted by an NF interested in constituents (i.e., members) of the group of terminal devices that share the one or more NWDA parameter identifiers.

The request may be transmitted as a subscription request (e.g., to be notified of any new terminal devices joining a new or existing group associated with the one or more parameter identifiers) and/or as an instruction to perform the grouping (i.e., to trigger creation of a new group based on the NWDA parameter identifiers). The request may optionally include a dedicated parameter value range or parameter value set for each NWDA parameter identified by a particular NWDA parameter identifier. Alternatively, or in addition, the request may include at least one grouping condition for creating a new group of terminal devices based on the NWDA information defined by the one or more NWDA parameter identifiers and, optionally, one or more associated NWDA parameter values (e.g., in the form of a dedicated parameter value range or a parameter value set) included in the request. For example, the request may include one or more tuples, wherein each tuple has the form (NWDA parameter identifier/ dedicated parameter value range or parameter value set). The one or more tuples may jointly define a particular terminal device group.

The apparatus may be adapted to receive a request including a group identifier and to consult the first mapping to identify one or more NWDA parameter identifiers associated with the received group identifier. The apparatus may further be configured to return the identified one or more NWDA parameter identifiers.

Optionally, the one or more NWDA parameter identifiers may be returned together with one or more associated NWDA parameter values. For example, one or more tuples of the form (NWDA parameter identifier/ dedicated parameter value range or parameter value set) that define the terminal device group associated with the received group identifier may be returned.

The apparatus may be adapted to maintain a second mapping between device identifiers and group identifiers. The second mapping may take the form of a data structure (e.g., a table) or a function. In some variants, the first and second mappings are maintained in a single data structure, such as a single table.

The apparatus may be adapted to receive a request including a device identifier and to consult the second mapping to identify at least one group identifier associated with the received device identifier. The apparatus may further be configured to return the identified at least one group identifier. The request may be transmitted as a subscription request, for example to be notified of any newly created or existing group(s) that include(s) the terminal device associated with the device identifier. As such, the group identifier(s) may be returned together with one or more NWDA parameter identifiers and one or more associated NWDA parameter values that define the newly created or existing group(s) identified by the returned group identifier(s). For example, one or more tuples in the form (NWDA parameter identifier/ dedicated parameter value range or parameter value set) may be returned together with each group identifier.

In some cases, the request with the device identifier may include at least one grouping condition for creating a new group of terminal devices (e.g., one or more NWDA parameter identifiers and a dedicated parameter value range or parameter value set for each NWDA parameter that need to be fulfilled by the constituents of the group and/or a minimum number of group members below which no group will be created, and so on). In such a scenario, the identified at least one group identifier may be returned together with one or more NWDA parameter identifiers and, optionally, associated NWDA parameter values associated with the new group.

The apparatus may be adapted to receive a request including a group identifier and to consult the second mapping to identify one or more device identifiers associated with the received group identifier. In such a case, the apparatus may further be configured to return the identified one or more device identifiers. The request may be sent by an NF interested, for example, in a list of terminal devices constituting a particular terminal device group, or for other purposes.

The apparatus may be adapted to create a new group of terminal devices upon determining that the at least one grouping condition is fulfilled. In some cases, the at least one grouping condition includes at least one of: a number of terminal devices sharing similar NWDA information reaching or exceeding a predefined threshold; and

NWDA parameter values obtained for the same NWDA parameter for different terminal devices falling within a predefined parameter range or parameter set.

The apparatus may be adapted to operate as a network data analytics function, NWDAF. The NWDAF may be compliant with 3GPP TS 23.502 V15.3.0 (2018-09) or later versions thereof.

According to a second aspect, an apparatus is provided having access to a database that registers a grouping of terminal devices of a communication network into one or more device groups based on NWDA information shared by the terminal devices in each group, wherein the database includes database entries associating a device identifier of a terminal device with one or more group identifiers of the one or more device groups. The apparatus is adapted to receive a request including a device identifier and to access, in the database, a database entry associated with the device identifier. The apparatus is further adapted to read, from the database entry, database information including at least one group identifier and to send a response including the database information.

The apparatus of the second aspect may be adapted to receive, for a terminal device having a device identifier and belonging to a group of terminal devices, the device identifier and a group identifier of the group of terminal devices. The apparatus may further be adapted to register the group identifier in a database entry associated with the device identifier.

The database may contain subscription information for the terminal devices, and the request may be a request for subscription information. In particular, the request may be a regular request for subscription information not referring to any group-related information. Any group identifier may thus be returned by default together with the actually requested subscription information.

At least one of the database entries that associate device identifiers and group identifiers may contain an NWDA parameter identifier. The NWDA parameter identifier may be indicative of an NWDA parameter that is used to determine that the terminal device belongs to the group of terminal devices associated with the group identifier in the database entry. In such a case, the database information in the response may contain the NWDA parameter identifier.

The apparatus may be adapted to operate as a unified data repository, UDR. The UDR may be compliant with 3GPP TS 23.502 V15.3.0 (2018-09) or later versions thereof.

According to a third aspect, an apparatus for obtaining NWDA information is provided, wherein terminal devices of a communication network are grouped into one or more device groups based on NWDA information shared by the terminal devices in each group, and wherein each device group has a group identifier. The apparatus is adapted to send a notification request including a device identifier of at least one terminal device. The apparatus is further adapted to receive, in response to the notification request, a notification message comprising the device identifier and at least one group identifier associated therewith, wherein the at least one group identifier identifies the at least one device group comprising the terminal device associated with the device identifier. Moreover, the apparatus is adapted to obtain, based on the at least one group identifier, the NWDA information associated with the terminal device.

The apparatus according to the third aspect may be adapted to obtain the NWDA information associated with the terminal device by sending a request comprising the at least one group identifier and by receiving the NWDA information shared by the terminal devices in the at least one device group associated with the at least one group identifier.

Also provided is a network system. The network system comprises the apparatus of the first aspect and at least one of the apparatus of the second aspect and the apparatus of the third aspect. The network system may be compliant with 3GPP TS 23.502 V15.3.0 (2018-09) or later versions thereof.

Moreover, a method is provided for grouping terminal devices of a communication network into one or more device groups based on NWDA information shared by the terminal devices in each group. The method comprises obtaining, for a terminal device having a device identifier, NWDA information gathered in the communication network for the terminal device and determining, based on the obtained NWDA information, that the terminal device belongs to a group of terminal devices that is associated with the NWDA information, the group of terminal devices having a group identifier. The method also comprises sending a notification message comprising the device identifier and the group identifier.

The method may be performed by the apparatus according to the first aspect as presented herein above and below.

Further, a method is provided for accessing a database that registers a grouping of terminal devices of a communication network into one or more device groups based on NWDA information shared by the terminal devices in each group, wherein the database includes database entries associating a device identifier of a terminal device with one or more group identifiers of the one or more device groups. The method comprises receiving a request including a device identifier and accessing, in the database, a database entry associated with the device identifier. The method also comprises reading, from the database entry, database information including at least one group identifier and sending a response including the database information.

The method may be performed by the apparatus according to the second aspect presented herein above and below.

Still further, a method is provided for obtaining network data analytics, NWDA, information, wherein terminal devices of a communication network are grouped into one or more device groups based on NWDA information shared by the terminal devices in each group, wherein each device group has a group identifier. The method comprises sending a notification request including a device identifier of at least one terminal device and receiving, in response to the notification request, a notification message comprising the device identifier and at least one group identifier associated therewith, wherein the at least one group identifier identifies the at least one device group comprising the terminal device associated with the device identifier. The method also comprises obtaining, based on the at least one group identifier, the NWDA information associated with the terminal device.

The method may be performed by the apparatus according to the third aspect presented herein above and below.

Also provided is a computer program product comprising program code portions configured to execute the method presented herein when the computer program product is executed by one or more processors. The computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium or may be provided for download via a network connection. Brief Description of the Drawings

Further aspects, details and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments below and from the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network system embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figs. 2A, 2B are block diagrams illustrating two grouping apparatus embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figs. 3A, 3B are block diagrams illustrating embodiments of two apparatuses for database access in accordance with the present disclosure;

Figs. 4A, 4B are block diagrams illustrating embodiments of two apparatuses for obtaining NWDA information in accordance with the present disclosure;

Figs. 5A, 5B are flow diagrams illustrating method embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Figs. 6A-H are schematic diagram signaling diagrams illustrating further

embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details.

While, for example, the following description focuses on an exemplary core network configuration in accordance with 5G specifications, the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. For example, the present disclosure could also be implemented in other cellular or non-cellular wireless communication networks. While, therefore, the embodiments will specifically be described with reference to 5G core network entities, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure could also be implemented in other network types and by other network entities having similar functionalities. Moreover, while network data analytics information will be explained in the context of exemplary types of such information, it will be readily apparent that other types of network data analytics information may be used as well for grouping purposes.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the steps, services and functions explained herein may be implemented using individual hardware circuits, using software functioning in conjunction with a programmed microprocessor or general purpose computer, using one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and/or using one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSP). It will also be appreciated that when the present disclosure is described in terms of a method, it may also be embodied in one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more memories store one or more computer programs that perform the steps, services and functions disclosed herein when executed by one or more processors.

In the following description of exemplary embodiments, the same reference numerals denote the same or similar components.

Fig. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a network system 100 in which the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in Fig. 1, the network system 100 comprises a core network domain 102 operated by a mobile network operator (MNO). Different terminal devices 104, such as a UE-type terminal device 104A (e.g., a smartphone) and two IoT-type terminal devices 104B, 104C (e.g., a car and a wearable device), are serviced by the core network domain 102 via an access network domain. The access network domain is not shown in Fig. 1.

It will in the following be assumed that the core network domain 102 is compliant with 5G specifications, including 3GPP TS 23.502 V15.3.0 (2018-09). For this reason the following description of the core network domain 102 will make reference to typical 5G core network elements, without limiting the present disclosure thereto.

The access network domain may also be compliant with 5G specifications and, optionally, additionally provide compatibility for 4G and 3G terminal devices.

The core network domain 102 comprises multiple network entities. In Fig. 1, primarily the network entities participating in NWDA mechanisms are illustrated. Those network entities comprise a central NWDAF 106 configured to collect and analyse data from, inter alia, different NFs 107, such as user plane functions, UPFs, 107A, 107B, 107C. These and other NFs 107D, 107E may subscribe and unsubscribe at NWDAF 106 to be notified about NWDA information as will be described in greater detail below.

Each UPF-type NF 107A, 107B, 107C is associated with one of the terminal devices 104A, 104B, 104C, respectively, and handles the associated data traffic. It will be appreciated that each UPF 107A, 107B, 107C can in principle handle data traffic for multiple ones of the terminal devices 104A, 104B, 104C, depending on the network configuration. UPF-type NFs 107A, 107B, 107C are equipped with DPI technology to inspect and analyse data traffic of the terminal devices 104.

A further central component of the core network domain 102 is a so-called unified data management (UDM) 108. UDM 108 supports different registration, subscription and user-related functionalities, including subscription management, user

identification handling (e.g., storage and management of the subscriber permanent identifier, SUPI, for each subscriber in the 5G system), and serving NF registration management for the terminal devices 104.

UDR 112 comprises database functionalities (see database 112A in Fig. 1) and enables storage in and retrieval of subscription data by UDM 108 from database 112A. UDR 112 corresponds to the home subscriber server (HSS) in pre-5G core network architectures. In the example depicted in Fig. 1, UDR 112 stores a user identifier (User-ID) associated with UE-type terminal device 104A as well as the IoT identifiers (IoT-IDs) associated with the IoT devices 104B and 104C. These various types of identifiers are also collectively referred to as device identifiers herein. UDR 112 further enables storage and retrieval of policy data by PCF 114, of structured data for exposure, of application data (including packet flow descriptions, PFDs, for application detection and application request information for multiple terminal devices) by NEFs 107.

BSF 110 stores information about user identity, data network name (DNN), terminal device (IP or Ethernet) address, date network information (e.g., single network slice selection assistance information, S-NSSAI) and PCF address of PCF 114 selected for a certain protocol data unit (PDU) Session. This information may be stored in UDR 112 as structured data or internally in BSF 110.

As will be explained in more detail below, NWDAF 106 is configured to group the terminal devices 104 into one or more device groups so that the terminal devices 104 in each individual group share, or are associated with, common NWDA information. Grouping-related information may be registered in UDR 112 for later retrieval. The grouping-related information may, for example, be retrieved by NF 107D or any other one of the NFs 107. NWDAF 106, UDR 112 and NF 107D will in the following be described in greater detail as far as device grouping is concerned.

Figs. 2A and 2B illustrate two embodiments of NWDAF 106 of Fig. 1. In

the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2A, NWDAF 106 comprises a processor 202 and a memory 204 coupled to the processor 202. NWDAF 106 further comprises an optional input interface 206 and an optional output interface 208. The memory 204 stores program code that controls operation of the processor 202.

The processor 202 is adapted to obtain, via the input interface 206, for all or at least some of the terminal devices 104, such as terminal device 104A identified by an associated device identifier, NWDA information. The NWDA information has been gathered for terminal device 104A in a communication network comprising the core network domain 102 and the associated access network domain interfacing between terminal device 104A and the core network domain 102. As an example, the NWDA information may have been gathered by one or more of UPF-type NF 107A, PCF 114, SMF 116 and AMF 118 for terminal device 104A.

The processor 202 is also adapted to determine, based on the obtained NWDA information gathered for terminal device 104A, that terminal device 104A belongs to a group of terminal devices 104 that is associated with the NWDA information. As an example, the NWDA information may be obtained in the form of one or more NWDA parameter values (e.g., for NWDA parameters such as terminal device location, time, etc.), and these values may be analyzed by NWDA 106 to determine if there exists a matching terminal device group associated therewith. It is assumed that NWDA 106 can identify a group matching the NWDA information obtained for terminal device 104A, and that this group has a group identifier.

The processor 202 is also adapted to send, via the output interface 208, a notification message comprising the device identifier and the group identifier. This notification message may, for example, be sent to UDR 112 (optionally via BSF 108 or UDM 110) so that the group identifier can be registered in a database entry in database 112A for terminal device 104A. This database entry can be identified by the device identifier of terminal device 104A. Fig. 2B shows an embodiment in which NWDAF 106 is implemented in a modular configuration. As shown in Fig. 2B, NWDAF 106 comprises an obtaining module 210 configured to obtain the NDWA information for terminal device 104A (and other terminal devices 104), a determining module 212 configured to determine that terminal device 104A belongs to a particular device group, and a sending module 214 configured to send a notification message with the device identifier of terminal device 104A and the group identifier of the particular device group.

Figs. 3A and 3B illustrate two embodiments of UDR 112 of Fig. 1. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3A, UDR 112 comprises a processor 302 and a memory 304 coupled to the processor 302. UDR 112 further comprises an optional input interface 306 and an optional output interface 308. The memory 304 stores program code that controls operation of the processor 302. The memory 304, or a different memory, may also store the database 112A.

The processor 302 is adapted to receive, via the input interface 306 and from NWDAF 106 or any of the NFs 107, such as NF 107D, a request message including a device identifier of, for example, terminal device 104A. The request message may be directed at obtaining subscription information for terminal device 104A or may specifically be directed at obtaining grouping-related information for terminal device 104A.

The processor 304 is also adapted to access, in database 112A, a database entry associated with the device identifier of terminal device 104 as received with the request message and to read, from that database entry, database information that includes at least one group identifier previously obtained from NWDAF 106 as explained with reference to Figs. 2A and 2B.

Moreover, the processor 304 is configured to send, via the output interface 308, a response message including the database information retrieved from the database 112A for the device identifier of terminal device 104A. As an example, the response message may be sent to the network entity from which the request message was obtained.

Fig. 3B shows an embodiment in which UDR 112 is implemented in a modular configuration. As shown in Fig. 3B, UDR 112 comprises a receiving module 310 configured to receive the request message, an accessing module 312 configured to access the database 112A, a reading module 314 configured to read database information from the database entry for terminal device 104A, and a sending module configured to send the database information in a response message.

Figs. 4A and 4B illustrate two embodiments of NF 107D of Fig. 1. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3A, NF 107D comprises a processor 402 and a memory 404 coupled to the processor 402. NF 107D 112 further comprises an optional input interface 406 and an optional output interface 408. The memory 404 stores program code that controls operation of the processor 402.

The processor 402 is configured to send, via the output interface 408 and to NWDAF 106 or UDR 112, a notification request message including a device identifier of, for example, terminal device 104A. The processor 402 is further configured to receive, via the input interface 406 from NWDAF 106 or UDR 112, a notification response message the device identifier of terminal device 104A and at least one group identifier of a group that comprises terminal device 104A. Further, the processor 402 is configured to obtain, based on the group identifier, NWDA information associated with terminal device 104A. To this end, the processor 402 may be configured to send, via the output interface 408, a request message comprising the group identifier to NWDA 106 and to receive, via the input interface 406 and from NWDA 106, the requested NWDA information (e.g., in the form of NWDA parameter identifiers and/or NWDA parameter values associated with the group identifier).

Fig. 4B shows an embodiment in which NF 107D is implemented in a modular configuration. As shown in Fig. 4B, NF 107D comprises a sending module 410 configured to send the notification request message, a receiving module 412 configured to receive the notification response message, and an obtaining module 414 configured to obtain the NWDA information.

Figs. 5A and 5B illustrate in four flow diagrams 500, 510, 520 and 530 method embodiments of the present disclosure. The method embodiment of flow diagram 500 may be performed by any of the NWDAF embodiments of Figs. 2A and 2B. The method embodiment of flow diagrams 510 and 520 may be performed by any of the UDR embodiments of Figs. 3A and 3B. The method embodiment of flow diagram 530 may be performed by any of the NF embodiments of Figs. 4A and 4B

The method illustrated in flow diagram 500 comprises a step S502 of obtaining by NWDAF 106, for any of the terminal devices 104, such as terminal device 104A having an associated device identifier, NWDA information. As explained above, the NWDAF information has been gathered in the communication network for terminal device 104A.

The method comprises a further step S504 of determining by NWDAF 106, based on the NWDA information obtained for terminal device 104A, that terminal device 104A belongs to a particular group of terminal devices 104 that is associated with the NWDA information obtained for terminal device 104A. The particular group of terminal devices 104 has a group identifier that is sent by NWDAF 106, in a step S506, in a notification message together with the device identifier of terminal device 104A. As explained above, the notification message may be sent to UDR 112 (or to any of NFsl07).

The method illustrated in flow diagram 510 comprises a step S512 of receiving by UDR 112, a notification message, such as the notification message sent by the NWDAF in step S506. This notification message includes the device identifier of a particular one of the terminal devices 104, for example of terminal device 104A. The notification message further includes the group identifier of a terminal device group that comprises terminal device 104A. Then, in step S514, UDR 112 registers the group identifier received in step S512 in a database entry in database 112A. The database entry is associated with the device identifier indicated in the notification message. The database entry may be a subscription record underlying a subscription for terminal device 104A.

The method illustrated in flow diagram 520 comprises a step S522 of receiving by UDR 112 a request message including a device identifier (e.g., the device identifier of terminal device 104A). The request message may be received from NWDAF 106 or any of the NFs 107, such as NF 107D. In a further step S524, UDR 112 accesses, in database 112A, the database entry associated with the device identifier. Then, in step S526, the UDR 112 reads, from that database entry, database information. The database information read in step S526 includes at least one group identifier of at least one group that includes terminal device 104A. In another step S528, UDR 112 sends a response message including the database information read in step S526.

The method illustrated in flow diagram 530 comprises a step S532 of sending, by NF 107D, a notification request message including a device identifier of at least one of the terminal devices 104 (e.g., terminal device 104A). The notification request message is sent to UDR 112, either directly or via NWDAF 106. The method further comprises in step S534 receiving by NF 107D, in response to the notification request, a notification message comprising the device of terminal device 104 A and at least one group identifier associated therewith, wherein the at least one group identifier identifies the at least one device group comprising terminal device 104A associated with the device identifier. The method also comprises in step S536 obtaining by NF 107D, based on the at least one group identifier received in step S534, the NWDA information associated with the terminal device 1004A. As an example, NF 107D may obtain the NWDA information from NWDAF 106 based on the group identifier.

In the following, the above embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to the signaling embodiments illustrated in Figs. 6A to 6H.

Fig. 6A depicts a signaling embodiment in the context of terminal device grouping by NWDAF 106 and registration in UDR 112. The embodiment comprises the following steps:

1. NWDAF 106 gathers NWDA information for many terminal devices 104. The NWDA information may be obtained from NFs (UPFs) 107A to 107C, or other NFs, or other information sources.

2. NWDAF 106 determines, based on the NWDA information gathered for a particular terminal device 104A, that that this terminal device 104A belongs to a terminal device group associated with the NWDA information gathered for the particular terminal device 104A. An existing terminal device group has a group identifier. If the terminal device group needs to be newly established at NWDAF 106, NWDAF 106 assigns a new group identifier (Analytics-user-group-ID in the terminology of Fig. 6A) to this group.

For the purposes of step 2, NWDAF may maintain and consult a mapping that associates NWDA information (e.g., NWDA parameter identifiers) and group identifiers. The mapping may take the form of a table.

3. NWDAF 106 sends to UDR 112 a notification message (Set Analytics-user- group message in the terminology of Fig. 6A). This notification message informs the UDR 112 that a new terminal device group has been established that comprises terminal device 104A (and possibly other terminal devices 104). The same or a different notification message may be sent in case terminal device 104A is grouped into a previously existing terminal device group.

The notification message sent in step 3 includes the device identifier (User-ID in the terminology of Fig. 6A) of terminal device 104A as well as the group identifier (Analytics-user-group-ID) of the newly established (or previously existing) group.

The notification message optionally includes a list of NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-IDs in the terminology of Fig. 6A) of NWDA parameters shared by the terminal devices 104 in the new terminal device group.

4. UDR 112 acknowledges the message to NWDAF 106.

Fig. 6B depicts in a single signaling diagram the process of AMF 118 or SMF 116 retrieving the grouping information stored for a particular terminal device 104A in UDR 112. To this end, AMF 118 or SMF 116 may use existing 5G standard

procedures for information retrieval from UDR 112. The embodiment comprises the following steps:

1. AMF 118 receives a registration request message for terminal device 104A from the radio access network, or SMF 116 receives a PDU session establishment request message for terminal device 104A from AMF 118. In both cases the terminal identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A is included in the corresponding notification message.

2. Option 1: via UDM 110 (steps 3 to 6)

3. AMF/SMF 118/116 invokes the Nudm_SDM_Get service in UDM 110 to get the subscription data. This invocation includes the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A.

4. UDM 110 invokes the Nudr_DataManagement Query service in UDR 112. Also this invocation includes the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A.

5. UDR 112 responds to UDM 110 following 5G standard procedures but including grouping-related information from its local database in its response message. This grouping-related information includes one or more identifiers

(Analytic-user-group-ID) of one or more terminal device groups that include terminal device 104A. The response optionally includes a list of NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-ID), if available (for each terminal device group that includes terminal device 104A). Of course, no grouping-related information will be provided in case terminal device 104A does not belong to any NWDA group.

6. UDM 110 responds to AMF/SMF 118/116 with a response message that includes the same information as obtained from UDR 112 in step 5.

7. Option 2: via PCF 114 (steps 8 to 11)

8. AMF 118 invokes the Npcf_AMPolicyControl Create service in PCF 114 including the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A. In case of SMF 116, this network entity invokes the Npcf_SMPolicyControl Create service in PCF 114 including the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A.

9. PCF 114 invokes the NudrJOataManagement Query service in UDR 112. Also this invocation includes the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A.

10. UDR 112 responds to PCF 114 following 5G standard procedures but including grouping-related information from its local database in its response message. This grouping-related information includes one or more identifiers (Analytic-user-group- ID) of one or more terminal device groups that include terminal device 104A. The response optionally includes a list of NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-ID), if available (for each terminal device group that includes terminal device 104A). No grouping-related information will be provided in case terminal device 104A does not belong to any NWDA group.

11. PCF 114 responds to AMF/SMF 118/116 with a response message that includes the same information as obtained from UDR 112 in step 10.

Fig. 6C depicts in a signaling diagram NF 107D requesting from either NWDAF 106 or UDR 106 grouping-related information for a particular terminal device 104A. The embodiment comprises the following steps:

1. NF 107D sends to NWDAF 112 or UDR 116 a notification request message (Get Analytics-user-group message in the terminology of Fig. 6C) that includes the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A. 2. NWDAF 112 or UDR 106 responds with a notification message that includes a list of zero, one or more tuples, depending on the number of groups that comprise terminal device 104A. Each tuple includes the group identifier (Analytics-user-group- ID) of the particular group associated with the tuple and a list of NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-IDs) shared by the terminal devices 104 within that group. The notification message optionally includes the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A.

For the purposes of step 2, NWDAF 106 or UDR 112 maintains and consults a mapping that associates device identifiers, NWDA parameter identifiers and group identifiers. The mapping may take the form of a table.

Fig. 6D depicts in a signaling diagram NF 107D requesting from NWDAF 106 the terminal device groups that share one or more NWDA parameters as defined by NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-IDs). The embodiment comprises the following steps:

1. NF 107D sends to NWDAF 106 a Get Analytics-user-group request message. The request message includes a list of one or more tuples. Each tuple includes an NWDA parameter identifier (Analytic-ID) that is to be shared by the terminal devices in the group(s) of interest to NF 107D. Optionally, each tuple further includes at least one grouping condition that the NWDA parameter underlying the NWDA parameter identifier shall fulfil (e.g., a certain location/area if Analytic-ID=location, a certain time of day if Analytic-ID=time, etc.).

2. NWDAF 106 responds with a list of zero, one or more tuples, wherein each tuple is associated with a dedicated terminal device group meeting the requirements indicated in the request message of step 1. Each tuple includes the group identifier (Analytics-user-group-ID) of the corresponding group and a list of NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-IDs) shared by the terminal devices 104 within that group.

For the purposes of step 2, NWDAF 106 maintains and consults a mapping that associates NWDA parameter identifiers and group identifiers. The mapping may take the form of a table.

Fig. 6E depicts in a signaling diagram NF 107D requesting from NWDAF 106 the NWDA parameter values (Analytics-values) of the analytics shared by the users in a given group. The embodiment comprises the following steps: 1. NF 107D sends to NWDAF 106 a Get Analytics request message including a group identifier (Analytics-user-group-ID).

2. NWDAF 106 responds with a list of one or more tuples. Each tuple includes the NWDA parameter identifier (Analytic-ID) of an NWDA parameter associated with the group identifier and one or more NWDA parameter values (Analytic-value) associated with that NWDA parameter. The one or more NWDA parameter values may represent a single value (including a setting, such as on/off or 0/1), a range or set of values, the analytic insight as such, a pattern (e.g., a mobility pattern), and so on.

As two non-limiting example in the context of location analytics, the (Analytic-ID, Analytic value) tuples can have the form (23, 41) or ("location", "cell-41"), and so on. The concrete definition will be implementation specific. The determination that a certain terminal device belongs to a certain group of terminal devices is also implementation specific. As an example, and again in the context of location analytics, it can be determined that stationary and/or mobile terminal devices within a certain building (or a certain cell, etc.) belong to the same group (e.g., Analytics- user-group-ID = 4321) in regard of their location because they always or for a large part of a day are attached to the same cell (i.e., the one that provides coverage to the building). Of course, these examples could be extended and modified as needed.

Fig. 6F depicts in a signaling diagram NF 107D requesting from NWDAF 106 or UDR 112 a list of terminal devices belonging to a particular terminal device group. The embodiment comprises the following steps:

1. NF 107D sends to NWDAF 106 or UDR 112 a Get Users request message including a group identifier (Analytics-user-group-ID)

2. NWDAF 106 or UDR 112 responds with a list of devices identifiers (User-IDs) associated with the group identifier received in step 1. For the purposes of step 2, NWDAF 106 maintains and consults a mapping that associates device identifiers and group identifiers. The mapping may take the form of a table. Fig. 6G depicts in a signaling diagram NF 107D subscribing to NWDAF 106 for being notified of terminal device groups comprising terminal devices 104 that share one or more NWDA parameters. The procedure in Fig. 6G may in particular be performed to instruct NWDAF 106 to establish a new group of terminal devices 104 sharing certain NWDA information. The embodiment comprises the following steps:

1. NF 107D sends to NWDAF 106 a request message (Analytics-user-group Subscribe). The request message includes a list of one or more tuples, each tuple including an NWDA parameter identifier (Analytic-ID) indicative of the shared analytics information (NWDA parameter(s)) of interest and, optionally, one or more grouping conditions that the NWDA parameter associated with the NWDA parameter identifier is to fulfil. These so-called "Analytics-user-group conditions" define the properties that a certain group needs to fulfil (e.g., for establishment) and can relate to one or more of a minimum number of terminal devices 104 required to establish a group at all, a maximum deviation from one or more the given NWDA parameter values (i.e., a parameter range) still acceptable for any of the terminal devices 104 to become a group member, and so on.

2. NWDAF 106 acknowledges receipt of the request message.

3. NWDAF 106 identifies a new terminal device group (Analytics-user-group in the terminology of Fig. 6G) matching the conditions indicated in step 1.

4. NWDAF 106 sends to NF 107D an Analytics-user-group Notify message. This notification message includes the group identifier (Analytics-user-group-ID) assigned by NWDAF 106 to the new terminal device group and, optionally, a list of NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-IDs) shared by the terminal devices 104 belonging to this group.

Fig, 6H depicts in a signaling diagram NF 107D subscribing to NWDAF 106 for (e.g., new or existing) terminal device groups including a particular terminal device 104A. The embodiment comprises the following steps:

1. NF 107D sends to NWDAF 106 a request message (Analytics-user-group Subscribe). The request message includes the device identifier (User-ID) of terminal device 104A. Optionally, the request message further includes one or more grouping conditions (Analytics-user-group conditions in the terminology of Fig. 6H). These grouping conditions identify the terminal device groups of specific interest to NF 107D (e.g., minimum number of terminal devices, maximum deviation from one or more NWDA parameter values underlying the grouping, and so on).

2. NWDAF 106 acknowledges receipt of the request message.

3. NWDAF 106 identifies terminal device 104A to belong to a new terminal device group, optionally according to the indicated conditions.

4. NWDAF 106 sends to NF a notification message (Analytics-user-group Notify in the terminology of Fig. 6H). The notification message includes the device identifier of terminal device 104A (User-ID), the group identifier of the new terminal device group (Analytics-user-group-ID) and, optionally, a list of NWDA parameter identifiers (Analytic-IDs) shared by the terminal devices 104 in the new terminal device group.

As has become apparent from the above embodiments, NWDAF 106 is configured to identify terminal devices 104 that share NWDA information (e.g., NWDA parameter values) and groups them together. One or more NWDA parameter values of potentially different NWDA parameters can be shared by the terminal devices 104 in one group. A particular terminal device 104A can belong to different groups. The conditions that need to be fulfilled to identify a terminal device group can be preconfigured in NWDAF 106 (e.g., minimum number of terminal devices, etc.).

When a terminal device 104A is found to belong to a group, NWDAF 106 registers in a database entry for that terminal device at UDR 112 the group identifier (Analytics- user-group-ID) and (optionally) the list of NWDA parameters that are shared among the terminal devices 104 in that group. This information is stored together with the subscription information for each of the terminal devices 104.

When an individual NF 107D sends to UDR 112 a request to retrieve the subscription information for a particular terminal device 104A, UDR 112 automatically includes in the response the registered grouping information (i.e., group identifier(s) and, if available, the NWDA parameter identifiers associated with each group identifier). This process may happen in 5G standard procedures in which NFs 107 retrieve

subscription information for a given terminal device 104A. Another possibility is that the NFs 107 may query UDR 112 to specifically get the registered grouping information for a certain terminal device 104A. When an NF 107D receives a group identifier from UDR 112, it may request from NWDAF 106 the shared NWDA parameter identifiers and/or NWDA parameter values associated with the group identifier. Moreover, NF 107D can request from NWDAF 106 to indicate the terminal device groups that share one or more NWDA

parameters. The NF 107D may also include conditions in the request that the shared NWDA parameter(s) shall fulfil.

NFs 107 can request NWDAF 106 or UDR 112 to provide the device identifiers that belong to a certain group identifier. Also, NFs 107 can subscribe to NWDAF 106 to get notified about newly established groups that share one or more NWDA parameter identifiers and/or NWDA parameter values. NFs 107 can also indicate one or more conditions that need to be fulfilled for establishment of a new group (e.g., e.g.

minimum number of terminal devices, maximum deviation of/from NWDA parameter values, etc.) and/or one or more conditions that need to be fulfilled by NWDA parameter values (e.g., a certain location, time of day, etc.) for a particular user terminal 104A to become a member of a particular group. Further, NFs 107 can subscribe to NWDAF 106 to get notified about newly identified group for a particular terminal device 104A.

As has become apparent from the above description of exemplary embodiments, the technique presented herein allows a network operator to identify terminal devices 104 that share a certain behaviour as defined by one or more NWDA parameters based on their membership in a particular terminal device group associated with these NWDA parameters. As a result, the network operator can apply common actions or policies to those terminal devices 104.

NFs 107 do not need to query NWDAF 106 each time they need to know if a particular terminal device 104A belongs to a particular or any terminal device group. The grouping information can be centrally stored in UDR 112 and can be retrieved by NFs 107 from there. Retrieval of grouping information can be performed using the requests for subscription data that already exist in 5G standard procedures (e.g,,

SMF 116 upon session establishment, AMF 118 upon terminal device registration and/or handover procedures, etc.).

As a result, computing resources for NWDAF 106 required for analytics purposes can be reduced, since analytics can be performed on a group level. Once, for example, a particular terminal device 104A is identified to belong to a certain group, the shared analytics in that group can be computed jointly for all terminal devices 104 of that group. Moreover, NWDAF 106 can lower its storage capacity to store the analytics information shared by terminal devices within the same group.

Additionally, NWDAF 106 can reduce the required amount of data to be collected to produce the analytics that are shared by the terminal devices 104 in one group, since once a particular terminal device 104A is identified to belong to a particular group, the input data needed to produce the shared analytics is also shared between the terminal devices 104 of that group. Therefore, NWDAF 106 can focus on finding outliers that may be stepping out of the group, instead of collecting massive data as it may be doing for other terminal devices 104 outside the group. As understood here, an outlier is an element that does not follow the general rules. If it is determined that certain terminal devices belong to the same group (based on the exemplary rules explained above), then data collection can be facilitated by assuming that all those terminal devices 104 belonging to the same group behave in the same manner, and therefore less data needs to be collected, stored and maintained for each individual terminal device 104. An outlier can easily be identified by looking at one or only a few parameters indicating that a particular terminal device 104A starts to behave in a different manner than the other group members. It will be appreciated that the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments that may be varied in many aspects. As such, the present invention is only limited by the claims that follow.

Claims

1. An apparatus (106) for grouping terminal devices (104) of a communication network into one or more device groups based on network data analytics, NWDA, information shared by the terminal devices (104) in each group, the apparatus (106) being adapted to

obtain (210), for a terminal device (104A) having a device identifier, NWDA information gathered in the communication network for the terminal device (104A);

determine (212), based on the obtained NWDA information, that the terminal device (104A) belongs to a group of terminal devices (104) that is associated with the NWDA information, the group of terminal devices (104) having a group identifier; and

send (214) a notification message comprising the device identifier and the group identifier.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, adapted to

receive a notification request including the device identifier of the user terminal (104A); and wherein

the apparatus is adapted to send the notification message in response to the notification request.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein

the apparatus is adapted to send the notification message to a database (112A) so as to trigger registration of the group identifier in a database entry associated with the device identifier.

4. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein

the NWDA information obtained for the terminal device (104A) comprises for at least one NWDA parameter an associated NWDA parameter value; and wherein

the apparatus is adapted to analyze the NWDA parameter value to determine that the terminal device (104A) belongs to the group of terminal devices.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein

the NWDA parameter is associated with an NWDA parameter identifier.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, adapted to

send the NWDA parameter identifier together with the device identifier and the group identifier.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 4 to 6, wherein

the group of terminal devices (104) is associated with at least one NWDA parameter and with at least one of a parameter value range and a parameter value set for the NWDA parameter.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, adapted to

determine that the terminal device (104A) belongs to the group of terminal devices (104) if the NWDA parameter value falls within the parameter value range or the parameter set.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 any of the preceding claims when dependent on claim 5, adapted to

maintain a first mapping between NWDA parameter identifiers and at least one of device identifiers and group identifiers.

10.The apparatus of claim 9, adapted to

receive a request including one or more NWDA parameter identifiers; consult the first mapping to identify at least one group identifier associated with the received one or more NWDA parameter identifiers; and return the identified at least one group identifier.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 or 10, wherein

the request includes at least one grouping condition for creating a new group of terminal devices (104) based on the NWDA information defined by the one or more NWDA parameter identifiers included in the request.

12. The apparatus of any of claims 9 to 11, adapted to

receive a request including a group identifier;

consult the first mapping to identify one or more NWDA parameter identifiers associated with the received group identifier; and

return the identified one or more NWDA parameter identifiers.

13. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, adapted to maintain a second mapping between device identifiers and group identifiers.

14.The apparatus of claim 13, adapted to

receive a request including a device identifier;

consult the second mapping to identify at least one group identifier associated with the received device identifier; and

return the identified at least one group identifier.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 or 14, wherein

the request includes at least one grouping condition for creating a new group of terminal devices (104), and wherein the identified at least one group identifier is returned together with one or more NWDA parameter identifiers associated with the new group.

16. The apparatus of any of claims 13 to 15, adapted to

receive a request including a group identifier;

consult the second mapping to identify one or more device identifiers associated with the received group identifier; and

return the identified one or more device identifiers.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 or 15 or any of the preceding claims depending on claim 11 or 15, adapted to

create a new group of terminal devices (104) upon determining that the at least one grouping condition is fulfilled, wherein the at least one grouping condition includes at least one of:

- a number of terminal devices (104) sharing similar NWDA information reaching or exceeding a predefined threshold; and

- NWDA parameter values obtained for the same NWDA parameter for different terminal devices (104) falling within a predefined parameter range or parameter set.

18.The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, adapted to

operate as a network data analytics function, NWDAF (106).

19. An apparatus (112) with access to a database (112A) that registers a

grouping of terminal devices (104) of a communication network into one or more device groups based on network data analytics, NWDA, information shared by the terminal devices (104) in each group, wherein the database (112A) includes database entries associating a device identifier of a terminal device (104A) with one or more group identifiers of the one or more device groups, the apparatus (112) being adapted to

receive (310) a request including a device identifier;

access (312), in the database (112A), a database entry associated with the device identifier;

read (314), from the database entry, database information including at least one group identifier; and

send (316) a response including the database information.

20.The apparatus of claim 19, adapted to

receive, for a terminal device (104A) having a device identifier and belonging to a group of terminal devices (104), the device identifier and a group identifier of the group of terminal devices (104);

register the group identifier in a database entry associated with the device identifier.

21. The apparatus of any of claims 19 and 20, wherein

the database (112A) contains subscription information for the terminal devices (104); and wherein

the request is a request for subscription information.

22. The apparatus of any of claims 19 to 21, wherein

at least one of the database entries that associate device identifiers and group identifiers contains an NWDA parameter identifier, wherein the NWDA parameter identifier is indicative of an NWDA parameter that is used to determine that the terminal device (104A) belongs to the group of terminal devices (104) associated with the group identifier in the database entry, and wherein the database information in the response contains the NWDA parameter identifier.

23. The apparatus of any of claims 19 to 22, adapted to

operate as a unified data repository, UDR (112).

24. An apparatus (107) for obtaining network data analytics, NWDA, information, wherein terminal devices (104) of a communication network are grouped into one or more device groups based on NWDA information shared by the terminal devices (104) in each group, wherein each device group has a group identifier, the apparatus (107) being adapted to

send (410) a notification request including a device identifier of at least one terminal device (104A);

receive (412), in response to the notification request, a notification message comprising the device identifier and at least one group identifier associated therewith, wherein the at least one group identifier identifies the at least one device group comprising the terminal device (104A) associated with the device identifier;

obtain (414), based on the at least one group identifier, the NWDA information associated with the terminal device (104A).

25. The apparatus of claim 24,

wherein the apparatus is adapted to obtain the NWDA information associated with the terminal device (104A) by sending a request comprising the at least one group identifier and by receiving the NWDA information shared by the terminal devices in the at least one device group associated with the at least one group identifier.

26. A network system (100) comprising the apparatus (106) of any of claims 1 to 18 and at least one of the apparatus (112) of any of claims 19 to 23 and the apparatus (107) of claim 24 or 25.

27. A method (500) for grouping terminal devices (104) of a communication

network into one or more device groups based on network data analytics, NWDA, information shared by the terminal devices (104) in each group, the method comprising

obtaining (S502), for a terminal device (104A) having a device identifier, NWDA information gathered in the communication network for the terminal device (104A);

determining (S504), based on the obtained NWDA information, that the terminal device (104A) belongs to a group of terminal devices (104) that is associated with the NWDA information, the group of terminal devices (104) having a group identifier; and

sending (S506) a notification message comprising the device identifier and the group identifier.

28. The method of claim 27, performed by the apparatus (106) of any of claims 1 to 18.

29. A method (520) for accessing a database (112A) that registers a grouping of terminal devices (104) of a communication network into one or more device groups based on network data analytics, NWDA, information shared by the terminal devices (104) in each group, wherein the database (112A) includes database entries associating a device identifier of a terminal device (104A) with one or more group identifiers of the one or more device groups, the method comprising

receiving (S522) a request including a device identifier;

accessing (S524), in the database (112A), a database entry associated with the device identifier;

reading (S526), from the database entry, database information including at least one group identifier; and

sending (S528) a response including the database information.

30. The method of claim 29, performed by the apparatus (112) of any of claims 19 to 23.

31. A method (530) for obtaining network data analytics, NWDA, information, wherein terminal devices (104) of a communication network are grouped into one or more device groups based on NWDA information shared by the terminal devices (104) in each group, wherein each device group has a group identifier, the method comprising

sending (S532) a notification request including a device identifier of at least one terminal device (104A);

receiving (S534), in response to the notification request, a notification message comprising the device identifier and at least one group identifier associated therewith, wherein the at least one group identifier identifies the at least one device group comprising the terminal device (104A) associated with the device identifier;

obtaining (S536), based on the at least one group identifier, the NWDA information associated with the terminal device (104A).

32. The method of claim 31, performed by the apparatus (107) of any of claims 24 and 25.

33. A computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of claims 27 to 32 when the computer program product is executed by one or more processors (202, 302, 402).

34. The computer program product of claim 33, stored on a computer readable recording medium