CTNF 18/977,889 CTNF 89854 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. Claims 1, 2, 6-9, 11-13 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 for being unpatentable over Chou (US 2021/0258866) in view of Aldana et al. (US 2020/0120458), hereinafter Aldana. As for claim 1, Chou teaches a method comprising: performing, by a processing system including at least one processor, a forecast of data traffic of a cellular network (paragraphs [0165] and [0174] describe a non-RT RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., an O-RAN network slice subnet instance (NSSI) resource allocation and optimization circuit of the non-RT RIC) performs operations, e.g. predicting traffic demand patterns of NSSI at different times and locations by utilizing an AI/ML model; paragraphs [0098] and [0101] describe a processor executes instructions to perform operations); detecting, by the processing system, a need for a resource allocation service in a future time period based on the forecast (paragraphs [0164], [0167] and [0187]-[0188] describe the NSSI resource allocation optimization function predicts the traffic demand pattern of 5G networks and automatically re-allocates the network resources ahead of the network issues surfaced. The AI/ML model generates a number of inferences about the network operation at various times/locations. The inferences are used to determine actions to reallocate resources that will improve the operation of the NSSI); instantiating, by the processing system, the resource allocation service in the cellular network for an endpoint device (paragraphs [0209] and [0212] describe a process of receiving a request from an NSSMS consumer; identifying a network function of the NSSI that is inactive; receiving a request to activate the network function/the network slice subnet instance (NSSI); invoking NF provisioning service to activate the NF). Chou fails to teach wherein a resource allocation service is an inter-operator carrier aggregation service; selecting, by the processing system, a first carrier component from at least one non-cellular network, wherein the at least one non-cellular network is distinct from the cellular network; and wherein the inter-operator carrier aggregation service implements a carrier aggregation process utilizing the first carrier component from the at least one non-cellular network and a second carrier component from the cellar network to provide data transmission to the endpoint device. Aldana discloses wherein a resource allocation service is an inter-operator carrier aggregation service (paragraphs [0623] and [0685] describe a terminal device uses an inter-operator carrier aggregation to transmit or receive data on carriers provided by multiple network operators. The inter-operator carrier aggregation involves a first wireless network operated by the first network operator provides a first substream over the first carrier, while the second wireless network operated by the second network operator provides the second and third substream over second and third carriers, respectively); selecting, by a processing system, a first carrier component from at least one non-cellular network (paragraphs [0623] and [0626]-[0627] and [0702]-[0703] describe the terminal device is provided with a wider range of different carriers to select from, the terminal device then uses the selected carriers for inter-operator carrier aggregation, including carrier aggregation that delivers data of a single data connection using multiple carriers. The inter-operator carrier aggregation is implemented using various different network architectures that separate the data stream into substreams at different network locations. For example, a core network separates the data stream and a radio network separates the data stream), wherein the at least one non-cellular network is distinct from the cellular network (Fig. 69; paragraph [0627] and [0702] describe a radio access network and a core network); and wherein the inter-operator carrier aggregation service implements a carrier aggregation process utilizing the first carrier component from the at least one non-cellular network and a second carrier component from the cellar network to provide data transmission to the endpoint device (paragraphs [0626]-[0627] describe the terminal device uses the selected carriers for inter-operator carrier aggregation, including carrier aggregation that delivers data of a single data connection using multiple carriers. The inter-operator carrier aggregation is implemented in which a data network separates the data stream, a core network separates the data stream, and a radio access network separates the data stream). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device. As for claim 2, the combined system of Chou and Aldana wherein the detecting is based on a data traffic inspection process and a network model (Chou: paragraphs [0181]-[0184] and [0186]-[0187] describe data are received from network functions. The performance measurements are based on a variety of performance metrics including DL PRBs used for data traffic; UL PRBs used for data traffic; average DL UE throughput in gNB; average UL UE throughput in gNB etc., an AI/ML model is trained using historic performance data. The AI/ML model generates a number of inferences about the network operation at various times/locations. The inferences are used to determine actions to reallocate resources; Aldana: paragraph [0623] describes a terminal device uses an inter-operator carrier aggregation to transmit or receive data with a data network), wherein the network model comprises a network state of the cellular network (Chou: paragraphs [0186]-[0187] describe the AI/ML model is trained using prior performance measurements including a variety of performance metrics). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device. As for claim 6, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches instantiating, by the processing system, a network slice in the cellular network to support the inter-operator carrier aggregation service (Chou: paragraph [0185] and [0190]-[0191] describe the non-RT RIC perform NSSI resource allocation optimization. The resource allocation includes the deployment of a network slice which consists of four phases, the preparation and a lifecycle of a network slice instance, the lifecycle includes instantiation, configuration, and activation; Aldana: paragraphs [0625]-[0626] describe the terminal device uses the selected carriers for inter-operator carrier aggregation, including carrier aggregation that delivers data of a single data connection using multiple carriers). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device. As for claim 7, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the network slice comprises a plurality of cellular core network functions and at least one base station (Chou: paragraph [0043] describes a RAN includes gNBs and NG-eNBs, a core network includes an access and mobility function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF) paragraph [0191] describes a network slice is a logical network that provides specific network capabilities and network characteristics; Fig. 11; paragraph [0194] describes a 5G network with network slicing). As for claim 8, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the plurality of cellular core network functions comprises at least one access management function (Chou: paragraph [0045] describes a core network includes an access and mobility function (AMF)), at least one session management function (Chou: paragraph [0045] describes the core network includes a session management function (SMF)), and at least one user plane function (Chou: Fig. 11; paragraph [0045] describes the core network includes a user plane function (UPF)). As for claim 9, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the at least one base station comprises: a gNodeB; or an eNodeB (Chou: paragraph [0043] describes the RAN includes gNodeBs and NG-eNBs). As for claim 11, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the data traffic inspection process comprises applying a set of packet information for one or more packets to a machine learning model that is configured to detect at least one of: a network performance anomaly or a need of the endpoint device (Chou: paragraph [0183] describes the non-RT RIC trains the AI/ML model based on the analysis of historical data such as prior performance measurement to predict the traffic demand for each NSSI for a given time and location; paragraphs [0183] and [0187] describe once trained, the AI/ML model generates a number of inferences about the network operation at various times/operations. The inferences may be used to determine actions to reallocate resources that will improve the operation of the NSSI; Aldana: paragraphs [0626]-[0627] describe the terminal device uses the selected carriers for inter-operator carrier aggregation, including carrier aggregation that delivers data of a single data connection using multiple carriers. The inter-operator carrier aggregation is implemented in which a data network separates the data stream, a core network separates the data stream, and a radio access network separates the data stream). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device. As for claim 12, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the need of the endpoint device comprises at least one of: a bandwidth need, a data processing speed need, a data transmission speed need, or a data transmission reliability need (Aldana: paragraph [0703] describes the terminal device is configured to select carriers based on characteristics of a carrier, for example: bandwidth, latency, reliability). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device. As for claim 13, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the at least one non-cellular network comprises: a WiFi communication network (Aldana: paragraph [0176] describes a radio communication network includes radio communication protocols include WiFi), a fiber optic communication network, a non-terrestrial network, an acoustic communication networks, or a thermal communication network. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device. As for claim 18, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches accounting, by the processing system, a delay associated with at least one of: the first carrier component or the second carrier component (Aldana: paragraph [0683] describes the routing processor and/or stream controller consider the carrier characteristics of the carrier of each data subconnection, such as the delay and data rate). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device based on characteristics of a carrier. As for claim 19, the claim lists all the same elements of claim 1, but in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processing system including at least one processor, cause the processing system to perform operations (Chou: paragraphs [0099]-[0100] describe a memory includes instructions to cause the processors to perform operations). Therefore, the supporting rationale of the rejection to claim 1 applies equally as well to claim 19. As for claim 20, Chou teaches an apparatus comprising (Fig. 4; paragraph [0012] describes systems, devices to perform functions): a processing system including at least one processor (Fig. 4; processors 410; paragraph [0098] describes processors); and a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to perform operations (Fig. 4, memory 420; paragraphs [0099]-[0100] describe a memory includes instructions to cause the processors to perform operations), the operations comprising: performing a forecast of data traffic of a cellular network (paragraphs [0165] and [0174] describe a non-RT RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) (e.g., an O-RAN network slice subnet instance (NSSI) resource allocation and optimization circuit of the non-RT RIC) performs operations, e.g. predicting traffic demand patterns of NSSI at different times and locations by utilizing an AI/ML model); detecting a need for a resource allocation service in a future time period based on the forecast (paragraphs [0164], [0167] and [0187]-[0188] describe the NSSI resource allocation optimization function predicts the traffic demand pattern of 5G networks and automatically re-allocates the network resources ahead of the network issues surfaced. The AI/ML model generates a number of inferences about the network operation at various times/locations. The inferences are used to determine actions to reallocate resources that will improve the operation of the NSSI); instantiating the resource allocation service in the cellular network for an endpoint device (paragraphs [0209] and [0212] describe a process of receiving a request from an NSSMS consumer; identifying a network function of the NSSI that is inactive; receiving a request to activate the network function/the network slice subnet instance (NSSI)). Chou fails to teach wherein a resource allocation service is an inter-operator carrier aggregation service; selecting a first carrier component from at least one non-cellular network, wherein the at least one non-cellular network is distinct from the cellular network; and wherein the inter-operator carrier aggregation service implements a carrier aggregation process utilizing the first carrier component from the at least one non-cellular network and a second carrier component from the cellar network to provide data transmission to the endpoint device. Aldana discloses wherein a resource allocation service is an inter-operator carrier aggregation service (paragraphs [0623] and [0685] describe a terminal device uses an inter-operator carrier aggregation to transmit or receive data on carriers provided by multiple network operators. The inter-operator carrier aggregation involve a first wireless network operated by the first network operator provides a first substream over the first carrier, while the second wireless network operated by the second network operator provides the second and third substream over second and third carriers, respectively); selecting, by a processing system, a first carrier component from at least one non-cellular network (paragraphs [0623] and [0626]-[0627] and [0702]-[0703] describe the terminal device is provided with a wider range of different carriers to select from, the terminal device then uses the selected carriers for inter-operator carrier aggregation, including carrier aggregation that delivers data of a single data connection using multiple carriers. The inter-operator carrier aggregation is implemented using various different network architectures that separate the data stream into substreams at different network locations. For example, a core network separates the data stream and a radio network separates the data stream), wherein the at least one non-cellular network is distinct from the cellular network (Fig. 69; paragraph [0627] and [0702] describe a radio access network and a core network); and wherein the inter-operator carrier aggregation service implements a carrier aggregation process utilizing the first carrier component from the at least one non-cellular network and a second carrier component from the cellar network to provide data transmission to the endpoint device (paragraphs [0626]-[0627] describe the terminal device uses the selected carriers for inter-operator carrier aggregation, including carrier aggregation that delivers data of a single data connection using multiple carriers. The inter-operator carrier aggregation is implemented in which a data network separates the data stream, a core network separates the data stream, and a radio access network separates the data stream). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Aldana for implementing inter-operator carrier aggregation. The teachings of Aldana when implemented in the Chou system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to enable terminal devices to use carriers operated by different network operators based on their carrier characteristics. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Aldana in the Chou system in order to allocate necessary resources among different carriers at different network systems to a terminal device. Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 for being unpatentable over Chou (US 2021/0258866) in view of Aldana (US 2020/0120458) further in view of Chawla et al. (US 2024/0155378), hereinafter Chawla. As for claim 3, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the network state comprises one or more network configuration setting values (Chou: paragraph [0186] describes performance measurements include a number of PDU Sessions requested to set up), and one or more performance indicator metrics (Chou: paragraph [0186] describes performance metrics include DL PRBs used for data traffic; UL PRBs used for data traffic; average DL UE throughput in gNB; average UL UE throughput in gNB). The combined system of Chou and Aldana fails to teach wherein a network state comprises a network topology. Chawla discloses wherein a network state comprises a network topology (paragraph [0042] describes an AI/ML model calculates prospective network services information pertaining to a network element and a geographic area based on network topology information, historical and current network services metric value information). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Chawla for utilizing network topology. The teachings of Chawla when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to calculate prospective network services information. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Chawla in the Chou and Aldana system in order to identify and generate templates that enable the provisioning of network resources and configurations. Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 for being unpatentable over Chou (US 2021/0258866) in view of Aldana (US 2020/0120458) further in view of Wang et al. (US 2026/0143515), hereinafter Wang. As for claim 4, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the detecting detects a condition (Chou: paragraphs [0166]-[0168] describes the non-RT RIC monitors the radio network(s), analyzes the data to train an AI/ML model, and then determines the actions needed to add or reduce resource; Aldana: paragraph [0623] describes a terminal device uses an inter-operator carrier aggregation to transmit or receive data with a data network. In inter-operator carrier aggregation, a terminal device may transmit and/or receive data on carriers provided by multiple network operators). The combined system of Chou and Aldana fails to teach wherein a condition is a network performance anomaly. Wang discloses wherein a condition is a network performance (paragraph [0043] describes performance management includes collecting long-term network performance statistics through M-Plane interface). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Wang for detecting a network anomaly. The teachings of Wang when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to perform prevent operation. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Wang in the Chou and Aldana system in order to take further actions to prevent or mitigate the abnormal situation. As for claim 14, the combined system of Chou, Aldana and Wang teaches wherein the detecting the network performance anomaly comprises detecting that one or more network performance indicator values exceed one or more threshold values (Wang: paragraph [0132] describes a base station determines that a network load change exceeds a preset threshold). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Wang for detecting a network anomaly. The teachings of Wang when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to perform prevent operation. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Wang in the Chou and Aldana system in order to take further actions to prevent or mitigate the abnormal situation. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 for being unpatentable over Chou (US 2021/0258866) in view of Aldana (US 2020/0120458) further in view of Mohanti et al. (US 2026/0149517), hereinafter Mohanti As for 5, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein the detecting detects an action (Chou: paragraphs [0166]-[0168] describes the non-RT RIC monitors the radio network(s), analyzes the data train an AI/ML model, and then determines the actions needed to add or reduce resource; Aldana: paragraph [0623] describes a terminal device uses an inter-operator carrier aggregation to transmit or receive data with a data network. In inter-operator carrier aggregation, a terminal device may transmit and/or receive data on carriers provided by multiple network operators). The combined system of Chou and Aldana fails to teach wherein an action is a need of an endpoint device for the future time period. Mohanti discloses wherein an action is a need of an endpoint device for the future time period (paragraph [0106] describes a core network is notified of predicted data and analyzes the forecasted wireless channel conditions for all the subscribed UEs, and takes pre-emptive measures to efficiently allocate network resources for the UEs in future time intervals). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Mohanti for pre-emptively allocating network resources to UEs. The teachings of Mohanti when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to take proactive resource allocation. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Mohanti in the Chou and Aldana system in order to remain within the application that is executed by the UEs, mandated QoS threshold and help to meet the highly dynamic requirements of future cellular networks. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 for being unpatentable over Chou (US 2021/0258866) in view of Aldana (US 2020/0120458) further in view of Duan et al. (US 12,652,566), hereinafter Duan. As for claim 10, the combined system of Chou and Aldana fails to teach wherein at least one base station comprises: a radio unit; a distributed unit; and a centralized unit. Duan discloses wherein at least one base station comprises: a radio unit; a distributed unit; and a centralized unit (col. 2, lines 37-45 describe a base station includes a central unit, a distributed unit, a radio unit). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Duan for implementing base stations. The teachings of Duan when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to support wireless access by UEs. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Duan in the Chou and Aldana system in order to provide edge node signaling functions and support data, voice, and signaling connections for the supported UEs. Claims 15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 for being unpatentable over Chou (US 2021/0258866) in view of Aldana (US 2020/0120458) further in view of Hou et al. (US 2020/0187208), hereinafter Hou. As for claim 15, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein a carrier aggregation is the inter-operator carrier aggregation service (Aldana: paragraphs [0623] and [0685] define in inter-operator carrier aggregation, a terminal transmits and receives data on carriers provided by multiple network operators). The combined system of Chou and Aldana fails to teach detecting, by a processing system, an aggregation service is no longer needed; and de-instantiating, by the processing system, the carrier aggregation service in a cellular network. Hou discloses detecting, by a processing system, an aggregation service is no longer needed (paragraphs [0076]-[0079] describe a configuration unit performs, based on load measurement results of a first and second network nodes, de-activation of a secondary carrier. If the configuration unit determines that an activation condition is not met, and there is currently an SCC being aggregated, the configuration unit performs de-activation operation of the SCC, including canceling aggregation of the SCC at the first network node); and de-instantiating, by the processing system, the carrier aggregation service in a cellular network (paragraph [0079] describes the configuration unit performs de-activation operation of the SCC; paragraph [0040] describes a cellular communication system). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Hou for performing de-activation operation of an SCC. The teachings of Hou when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to maintain resources of a network. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Hou in the Chou and Aldana system in order to improve spectrum utilization ratio, alleviates the waste of spectrum resource on the premise of ensuring the communication quality (Hou: paragraph [0114]). As for claim 17, the combined system of Chou and Aldana teaches wherein a carrier aggregation service includes an inter-operator carrier aggregation service (Aldana: paragraphs [0623] and [0685] define in inter-operator carrier aggregation, a terminal transmits and receives data on carriers provided by multiple network operators); wherein a network component is the network slice (Chou: paragraph [0203] and [0211] describe O-RAN Slice Subnet Instance deactivation). the combined system of Chou and Aldana fails to teach detecting, by a processing system, a carrier aggregation service is no longer needed; and de-instantiating, by the processing system, a network component. Hou discloses detecting, by a processing system, a carrier aggregation service is no longer needed (paragraph [0076] [0079] describe a configuration unit performs, based on load measurement results of a first and second network nodes, de-activation of a secondary carrier. If the configuration unit determines that an activation condition is not met, and there is currently an SCC being aggregated, the configuration unit performs de- activation operation of the SCC, including canceling aggregation of the SCC at the first network node); and de-instantiating, by the processing system, a network component (paragraph [0079] describes the configuration unit performs de-activation operation of the SCC; paragraph [0040] describes a cellular communication system). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Hou for performing de-activation operation of an SCC. The teachings of Hou when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to maintain resources of a network. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Hou in the Chou and Aldana system in order to improve spectrum utilization ratio, alleviates the waste of spectrum resource on the premise of ensuring the communication quality (Hou: paragraph [0114]). Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 for being unpatentable over Chou (US 2021/0258866) in view of Aldana (US 2020/0120458) further in view of Cercena et al. (US 2025/0211684), hereinafter Cercena. As for claim 16, the combined system of Chou and Aldana fails to teach assessing, by a processing system, a service charge to an account of an endpoint device. Cercena discloses assessing, by a processing system, a service charge to an account of an endpoint device (paragraphs [0039]-[0041] and [0044] describe a user endpoint device attempts to access an application that is defined as “allowed with subscription”, a profile associated with the subscriber is updated to include information related to the subscription such as user endpoint devices that are permitted to access the application or service, the fee to be charged to the subscriber for the subscription, a charging function (CHF) is updated to establish charging counters related to the application or service for the subscriber; paragraph [0031] describes the CHF provides functions and supports real time billing and application and service monetization, and others services which allow an operator of the communication service provider network to charge subscribers based on the applications and services delivered to the subscribers. A UPF generates a report that specifies usage by rating groups or service identifiers associated with the different applications and services, and forwards the report to the SMF, which in turn forwards the report to the CHF. The CHF forwards the report to external processing systems for rating, subscriber billing, further reporting, and other processing). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized the ability to utilize the teachings of Cercena for providing billing services. The teachings of Cercena when implemented in the Chou and Aldana system, will allow one of ordinary skill in the art to assist third party to collect fee based on a subscriber’s usage of applications and services. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to utilize the teachings of Cercena in the Chou and Aldana system in order allow an operator of a communication service provider to charge subscribers based on the applications and services delivered to the subscribers (Cercena: paragraph [0031]). Conclusions 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Stockert et al. (US 2021/0168031) teach management of persistent network slices by a distributed learning system in a 5G or other next generation wireless network Kwapniewski (US 2026/0142881) teach cellular network slice instantiation in response to network anomalies Zheng et al. (US 2022/0217610) teach intelligent 5G network slicing. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to L. T N. whose telephone number is (571)272-1013. The examiner can normally be reached M & Th 5:30 am - 2:30 pm EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, TONIA DOLLINGER can be reached at 571-272-4170. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /L. T. N/ Examiner, Art Unit 2459 /TONIA L DOLLINGER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 2 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 3 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 4 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 5 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 6 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 7 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 8 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 9 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 10 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 11 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 12 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 13 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 14 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 16 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 17 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 19 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 20 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 21 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 22 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 23 Art Unit: 2459 Application/Control Number: 18/977,889 Page 24 Art Unit: 2459
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