Siemens Mobile Communications S.p.a.

Nokia Siemens Networks S.p.a.

Simona Cavalli

Francesco Meago

Fabrizio Zizza

Alessandra Balletti

Valeria Motolese

The embodiments disclose a method for balancing traffic load between nearby cells of a mobile radio communication network, e.g. WiMAX Forum stage 2, 3 specifications or 3GPP UMTS Long Term Evolution (LTE), where cells are configured as peer network nodes interconnected by a transport network, e.g. an IP backbone preferably with multicast capability. In a preliminary off line step a) nearby cells are grouped into inner and border constellations. The first ones include group of nearby cells, not necessarily hosted by the same base station site, and belonging to a well defined geographic area, which are characterized by a common target utilization and by a common guard threshold for traffic load measured value. The second ones include the set of cells which are at the border between two inner constellations; target utilization and guard threshold are not defined, instead and cells actually belong to more than one inner constellation and have visibility over their target utilization and guard threshold parameters. Successively, in each constellation are executed the following on line steps: b) among all cells are exchanged their actual and residual traffic load status; c) all cells calculate the average actual traffic load into the constellation and compare it to their actual traffic load; d) cells with actual traffic load over the average book unreserved adjacent cells with the lowest actual traffic load and the highest residual traffic load as targets for traffic offloading; e) each booking cell command a fraction of its mobile terminals to execute handovers towards respective target cells accepting to be reserved; f) the reserved cells are released. Border constellation cells are enabled to trigger traffic offloading only when the average actual traffic load of the neighbor constellation is lower than its target utilization parameter.

Method to balance traffic load between nearby LTE/WiMAX cells grouped into inner and border constellations

It is disclosed a method to control the traffic generated by packet switched services in digital cellular communication networks. The method, enabled by the operator or by radio resource manager request, exploits network controlled cell reselection procedure and is based on the evaluation of the level of occupation of radio resources and, for every GPRS mobile, on the evaluation of the signal strength received both from the serving cell and from the cells adjacent to the serving one. Suitable cells towards which to move the GPRS mobiles are searched by the procedure. GPRS mobiles are then moved towards a candidate target cell through network controlled cell reselection if the cell supports packet switched service and has an occupation level of radio resources lower than a threshold parameter set by the operator on a cell basis.

Method to control the packet switching traffic in digital cellular communication systems

A Common radio resource management method is performed in a mobile radio communication network employing different radio access technologies that overlap over a geographic area subdivided into cells belonging to the domains of respective controllers which are connected to each other in overlapping or adjacent domains and to a core network by means of relevant interfaces. The controllers calculate new traffic-related Information Elements to be exchanged over the existing interfaces to the aim of planning handovers and/or cell reselections towards adjacent cells either of the same or different RAT. Cell capabilities and mobile terminal capabilitiess being also specified by respective IEs. Diversely from the conventional traffic-related IEs based on Cell Load parameters or Free Capacity, the new IEs include indications of the 'availability' of bearer services in the cell in terms of maximum bitrate, either guaranteed or not guaranteed, that can currently be allowed to each bearer service.

Growing community of inventors

Ispra, Italy

Simona Cavalli