Attach Request

The UE includes ATTACH REQUEST (initial-NAS) message within RRC

CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE message. The IE dedicatedInfoNAS in RRC
CONNECTION SETUP COMPLETE includes this initial-NAS message

The IEs (some of them are explained below) in ATTACH REQUEST message
include EPS attach type, EPS mobile identity, UE network capability, ESM
message container, Old P-TMSI signature, Additional GUTI, Last visited
registered TAI, DRX parameter, Old location area identification, Additional
update type, Voice domain preference and UE's usage setting etc…

The IE EPS Attach Type indicates the purpose of the attach procedure.
The value can be EPS attach (to attach for EPS services only) or combined
EPS/IMSI attach (to attach for both EPS and non-EPS services) or EPS emergency
attach (to attach for emergency bearer services)

The IE EPS Mobile Identity can be GUTI, IMSI or IMEI. The UE shall include
GUTI if it holds a valid GUTI (either native GUTI or mapped GUTI). If there is no
valid GUTI available, the UE shall include the IMSI as EPS Mobile Identity IE. If the
UE is attaching for emergency bearer services and does not hold a valid GUTI, P-
TMSI or IMSI as described above, the IMEI shall be included in the EPS mobile
identity IE
The purpose of the ESM message container IE is to enable piggybacked
transfer of an ESM message within an EMM message (This may contain IEs for
example, EPS bearer identity, procedure transaction identity, PDN connectivity
request, PDN type, Request type, ESM information transfer flag, EIT (ESM
information transfer), Protocol Configuration Options (Configuration Protocol,
DNS Server Address Request etc..)
 The IE Additional Update Type provides additional information about the
type of request for a combined attach procedure. Bit1 value 0 means that there
is “no additional information” and 1 means that “SMS only”

Voice domain preference and UE's usage setting IE shall be included if

the UE supports CS fallback and SMS over SGs, or if the UE is configured to
support IMS voice, but does not support 1xCS fallback. This IE provides the
network with the UE's usage setting and the voice domain preference for E-
UTRAN. Refer to 3GPP TS 24.008, section 10.5.5.28 for detailed information

The IE Last Visited Registered TAI shall be included if the UE holds a valid
last visited registered Tracking Area Identity (TAI)

Attach Accept

The ATTACH ACCEPT message is sent by the network to the UE to indicate

that the corresponding ATTACH REQUEST has been accepted. Typically,
the ATTACH ACCEPT message is piggy-backed on RRC CONNECTION
RECONFIGURATION message

The result of the EPS attach is indicated in the IE EPS Attach Result. The
result can be either “EPS only” or “combined EPS/IMSI attach”. The result
"combined EPS/IMSI attach" indicates that the attach request for EPS and non-EPS
services, or for EPS services and "SMS only" have been successful. The result "EPS
only" indicates that the attach request for EPS services (only) has been successful
but attach for non-EPS services or "SMS only" (if requested by the UE in the
ATTACH REQUEST) has failed

When the default bearer is activated as part of the attach procedure, the
MME shall send the ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message
together with ATTACH ACCEPT message. The IE ESM Message Container is used
for this purpose. The network may also initiate the activation of dedicated
bearers towards the UE by invoking the dedicated EPS bearer context activation
procedure

The GUTI Reallocation may be part of the attach procedure. If the

ATTACH REQUEST message includes the IMSI or IMEI, or if the MME considers the
GUTI provided by the UE is invalid, or if the GUTI provided by the UE was
assigned by another MME, the MME shall allocate a new GUTI to the UE. The MME
shall include in the ATTACH ACCEPT message the new assigned GUTI together
with the assigned TAI list

The IE TAI List indicates a list of tracking areas for which the UE doesn't
need to perform a tracking area updating procedure when entered one of these
TAs (in the list). The TAIs in a TAI list assigned by an MME to a UE belongs to the
same MME area

The MME includes EMM Cause IE when IMSI attach for non-EPS services is
not successful during a combined EPS/IMSI attach procedure

The purpose of the EPS network feature support IE is to indicate whether

certain features are supported by the network. It can indicate the following
features whether supported or not: IMS voice over PS session indicator (IMS
VoPS), Emergency bearer services indicator (EMC BS), Location services indicator
in EPC (EPC-LCS), Location services indicator in CS (CS-LCS), Support of
EXTENDED SERVICE REQUEST for packet services (ESRPS)

The purpose of the Additional update result IE is to provide additional

information about the result of a combined attach procedure. 00-no additional
information; 01-CS Fallback not preferred; 10-SMS only; 11-reserved

Detach Request (Network Initiated)

  The detach procedure is either initiated by the UE or by the network. The
network
initiates the detach procedure:

- To detach the UE for EPS services or non-EPS services or both

- To disconnect the UE from the last PDN to which it is connected
- To inform the UE to re-attach to the network and re-establish all PDN
connections

 If the MME performs a local detach (i.e. no explicit signalling), it will inform the UE
with an EMM message (e.g. SERVICE REJECT or TRACKING AREA UPDATE REJECT) with
EMM cause #10 "implicitly detached" only when the UE initiates any EMM procedure

 If the detach procedure for EPS services is performed, then all the active EPS
bearer context(s) are deactivated locally without peer-to-peer signalling between
the UE and the MME

 The MME initiates the detach procedure by sending a DETACH REQUEST message to
the UE

 The Detach type IE included in this message indicates the type of detach. 4-bits are
used for this purpose. 3-bits (LSBs) indicate whether ‘re-attach required’ or ‘re-
attach not required’ or ‘IMSI detach’. Bit-4 is always set to zero for network initiated
detach

 If the detach type IE indicates that "re-attach required", the UE shall deactivate all
the active EPS bearer context(s) locally and then send a DETACH ACCEPT message to
the network. Furthermore, the UE shall, initiate attach or combined attach
procedure. The UE should also re-establish any previously established PDN
connections (user interaction is necessary in some cases when the UE cannot re-
activate the EPS bearer(s) automatically)

 If the detach type indicates "IMSI detach", then the UE shall not deactivate any of
the EPS bearer context(s). The UE shall send a DETACH ACCEPT message to the
 network and re-attach to non-EPS services by sending TRACKING AREA UPDATE
REQUEST message with EPS update type IE indicating "combined TA/LA updating with
IMSI attach"

 The network may include an EMM cause IE to specify the reason for the detach. If
the detach type indicates "IMSI detach" or "re-attach required", then the UE shall
ignore the EMM cause IE if received

Attach Reject

If the UE initiated ATTACH REQUEST cannot be accepted by the network,

the MME shall send an ATTACH REJECT message to the UE including an
appropriate EMM cause value

If the attach procedure fails due to a Default EPS bearer Setup Failure
or an ESM procedure failure or operator determined barring is applied on Default
EPS Bearer Context Activation during attach procedure, the MME shall combine
the ATTACH REJECT message with a PDN CONNECTIVITY REJECT message
contained in the ESM Message Container IE. In this case the EMM Cause value in
the ATTACH REJECT message shall be set to #19 "ESM failure"

If the attach request is rejected due to NAS level congestion control, the
network shall set the EMM cause value to #22 "congestion" and optionally assigns
a back-off timer T3346

Attach Complete

The ATTACH COMPLETE message is sent by the UE to the network in

response to an ATTACH ACCEPT message
 When the UE receives the ATTACH ACCEPT message combined with the
ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message, it shall forward the
ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message to the ESM sublayer.
Once the ESM sublayer indicates that the default EPS bearer context has been
activated, the UE shall send an ATTACH COMPLETE message together with an
ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT ACCEPT message contained in the ESM
message container IE to the network

If the ACTIVATE DEFAULT BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message combined

with the ATTACH ACCEPT is not accepted by the UE due to failure in the UE's ESM
sublayer, then the UE shall not send ATTACH COMPLETE message. Instead, it shall
initiate the detach procedure by sending a DETACH REQUEST message to the
network. Further UE's behavior is implementation specific

Tracking Area Update Request

The TRACKING AREA UPDATING (TAU) procedure is always initiated by the

UE and is used for (some of) the following purposes:
 Normal TAU: When the UE enters a tracking area that is not in the list of
tracking areas that the UE previously registered in the MME
 Combined TAU: When a UE operating in 'CS/PS mode 1' or 'CS/PS mode 2' enters a
tracking area that is not in the list of tracking areas that the UE previously
registered in the MME
 Periodic TAU: Upon the expiry of timer T3412, periodic TAU procedure is
initiated to periodically notify the availability of the UE to the network
 IMSI attach for non-EPS services when the UE is attached for EPS services. This
procedure is used by a UE in 'CS/PS mode 1' or 'CS/PS mode 2' of operation
 In various cases of inter-system change from “Iu mode to S1 mode” or from
“A/Gb mode to S1 mode” or from “S101 mode to S1 mode”
 MME load balancing: When the UE receives RRC CONNECTION RELEASE message
with cause ‘load balancing TAU required', it initiates TAU procedure
 To update certain UE specific parameters in the network (ex:- when the UE
changes the “UE network capability information” or the “MS network capability
information” or the UE specific DRX parameter etc...)

The UE initiates the TAU procedure by sending TRACKING AREA UPDATE

REQUEST message. The IEs (some of them are explained below) in this message
include EPS update type, NAS key set identifier, Old GUTI, GPRS ciphering key
sequence number, Old P-TMSI signature, Additional GUTI, UE network capability,
Last visited registered TAI, DRX parameter, UE radio capability information
update needed, EPS bearer context status, MS network capability, Old location
area identification, Supported Codecs, Additional update type, Voice domain
preference and UE's usage setting, Device properties etc…

In the IE EPS update type the first 3 bits (LSBs) shall be used to
indicate update type (ex:- ‘TA updating’ or ‘combined TA/LA updating’ or
‘combined TA/LA updating with IMSI attach’ or ‘periodic updating’).
Additionally, if a UE has uplink user data pending when it initiates the TAU
procedure or uplink signalling not related to the TAU procedure, it may also set
an "active" flag (bit4) in this IE to indicate the request to establish the user plane
to the network and to keep the NAS signalling connection after the completion of
the TAU procedure

The IE Old GUTI shall be handled as follows:

 UEs supporting A/Gb mode or Iu mode or both:
- If TIN = "P-TMSI" and the UE holds a valid P-TMSI and RAI, the UE shall map the P-
TMSI and RAI into the Old GUTI IE, and include Old GUTI type IE with GUTI type
set to "mapped GUTI". Additionally, if the UE holds a valid GUTI, then it shall be
indicated in the IE Additional GUTI
- If TIN = “GUTI” or “RAT-related TMSI” and the UE holds a valid GUTI, the UE shall
indicate the GUTI in the Old GUTI IE, and include Old GUTI type IE with GUTI
type set to "native GUTI"
 UEs not supporting A/Gb mode or Iu mode: The UE shall include a valid GUTI in
the Old GUTI IE. In addition, the UE shall include Old GUTI type IE with GUTI
type set to "native GUTI"

The IE Additional Update Type provides additional information about the

type of request for a TAU procedure. Bit1 value 0 means that there is “no
additional information” and 1 means that “SMS only”

Voice domain preference and UE's usage setting IE shall be included if

the UE supports CS fallback and SMS over SGs, or if the UE is configured to
support IMS voice, but does not support 1xCS fallback. This IE provides the
network with the UE's usage setting and the voice domain preference for E-
UTRAN. Refer to 3GPP TS 24.008, section 10.5.5.28 for detailed information

The IE Last Visited Registered TAI shall be included if the UE holds a

valid last visited registered Tracking Area Identity (TAI)

The purpose of the Device properties IE is to indicate if the MS is

configured for NAS signalling low priority. The network uses the Device
properties IE for core-network congestion handling and for charging purposes.
This IE can indicate “MS is not configured for NAS signalling low priority” or “MS is
configured for NAS signalling low priority”