BR102015024575B1 - METHOD, APPARATUS, AND NON-TRAINER COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD, APPARATUS, NON-TRAINER COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA, AND, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT Various communication systems can benefit from proper recording of measurements. For example, communication systems that employ multimedia broadcast multicast service can benefit from recording single-frequency broadcast-multicast network measurements. A method may include recording, by a user equipment, a single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement corresponding to a recording period. The method may also include storing, at the time the single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement is made, cell measurement results.

Description

BACKGROUND

[001] This application relates to and claims the benefit of priority and US Provisional Patent Application No. 62/056,219, filed on September 26, 2014, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND FIELD

[002] Various communication systems can benefit from proper recording of measurements. For example, communication systems that employ multimedia broadcast multicast service can benefit from recording single-frequency broadcast-multicast network measurements.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED TECHNIQUE

[003] Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) currently lacks fully agreed upon complete measurement definitions for MBMS reception. Such definitions may need to take into account the collection of user equipment (UE) measurements from the geographically-located multicast single-frequency network (MBSFN) of the UE, to support verification of actual MBSFN signal reception and to support planning and reconfiguration such that the MBSFN areas and MBMS operation parameter selections. Additionally, these definitions may need to specify MBSFN radio reception measurements to be collected using the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) drive test (MDT) minimization functionality.

[004] The currently agreed L1 measurements include the following: MBSFN reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal received quality (RSRQ) per MBSFN area, where the average of the MBSFN signal strength indicator ( RSSI) received is superior only to orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) symbols that carry the MBSFN reference signal (RS); and measurement of multicast channel block error rate (MCH) (BLER) by modulation and coding scheme (MCS) per area of MBSFN. In this document, measurements should only be made on subframes and carriers where the UE is decoding the physical multicast channel (PMCH).

[005] The specifications for signaling aspects, for example, how measurements are configured, reporting details, enhancements to network interfaces and functions, and so on, conclude that only logged measurements are supported, both at idle and connected. . Furthermore, the current registered MDT principles for configuration and reporting will be reused to a large extent, such that configuration is done on a dedicated control channel (DCCH) using the existing registered measurement configuration and the UE will indicate about the available record, which is sent to the network on request, via UEInformationRequest/-Response signaling. According to these specifications, both management-based and signaling-based MDT can be used with the same principles as legacy MDT.

[006] MBSFN transmission per MBSFN area conventionally consists of broadcast, using SIB13, the MBMS control channel (MCCH) allocation, the transmission of MCCH information such as MBSFN area settings, including resource allocation for multicast traffic channel (MTCH), and transmission of MBMS traffic on MTCH. There is one MCCH per MBSFN area, but there can be multiple broadcast/multicast services in a single MBSFN area.

[007] The UE is conventionally supposed to regularly monitor the MCCH channel for any updated information. MCCH has a modification period and any content changes are reported with an MBMS-specific Temporary Radio Network Identifier (M-RNTI). Traffic is forecast for an MBMS scheduling period. The first MBMS subframe includes MBMS scheduling information (MSI) that tells how traffic for each active service is allocated within the MBMS scheduling period. Thus, the schedule can change dynamically from one schedule period to another. All of this results in the MBSFN transmission being irregular, which can affect how the UE can monitor and measure the PMCH.

[008] The registered MDT measurement configuration conventionally defines the recording frequency, that is, how often the UE should store the measured results. The results are associated with time and location information. The recording periodicity can be between 1s and 61s. With the current MDT recorded for the related radio resource management (RRM) measurements, recorded measurements are the last available measurement results filtered from serving cell, neighboring cells, or inter-radio access technology (RAT) cells. Actual measurements are taken shortly before recording takes place.

[009] With reception of MBSFN, on the other hand, the situation is different due to the irregular and discontinuous nature of the measurement samples, which the UE can obtain. Measurement time instants can be completely random with respect to recording time instants. With long recording periodicities, measurement time instants can be even tens of seconds before recording is supposed to be made.

[010] Furthermore, the MDT record entry may be associated with location information that must be related to the physical position in which the measurement was performed. This means that there is a limited shelf life when the obtained location information is valid. If the measurement time instant deviates too much from time a new location correction is obtained, accurate location information, from an autonomous function of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as global positioning system (GPS). ), is not stored. The results of available cell measurements will provide information about the location of the coarse UE.

[011] For RSRP/RSRQ measurement, the measurement period can be defined as follows: measurement contains at least 5 MBSFN sub-frames decoded with MCH (what the UE is receiving for the MBMS service of interest) or minimum measurement period is [640] ms.

[012] The UE is only conventionally required to perform MBSFN measurements when the UE is otherwise required to decode the PMCH (MCCH and/or MTCH). The minimum requirements for the UE to monitor the PMCH are influenced by the network MBMS configuration (MCCH) and the network MBMS programming along with which MBMS services the UE is interested in and/or subscribed to.

[013] The UE monitoring only the MCCH (for example, when waiting service for the MBMS starts or being interested in receiving the MBMS service) reception may happen infrequently, as illustrated in Figure 4. Specifically, the Figure 4 illustrates MCH reception when monitoring MCCH only.

[014] If the minimum number of samples is five, the maximum measurement duration is 20.48s: 4 x 5.12s = 4 x MCCH-ModificationPeriod / notificationRepetitionCoeff = 20.48s, where 5.12s is the minimum that the UE is receiving while monitoring MCCH only; MCCH-ModificationPeriod = 1,024 radio frames, notificationRepetitionCoeff = 2.

[015] Thus, intervals of 4 may be required to receive five samples. Therefore, the measurement period can span multiple recording periods (recording period can be 1.28s, 2.56s, 5m12s, ..., 61.44s). This means that if the five samples for a single measurement result represent a sliding window and recording is done once per recording period, successive measurement results can be highly correlated or even the same, since when new samples are not received during the last registration period, see Figure 5. Specifically, Figure 5 illustrates MCH reception against registration periods.

[016] Details of how the UE should perform measurements have not yet been specified. For example, it has not yet been specified whether the UE should use 5 samples applying a sliding window approach or whether the UE should measure using a five-sample window.

SUMMARY

[017] According to a first embodiment, a method may include recording, by a user equipment, OF a single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement corresponding to a recording period. The method may also include storing, at the time the broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement is made, the cell measurement results.

[018] In one variant, cell measurement results can be used for coarse location estimation.

[019] In one variant, the user equipment may record only one most recent measurement of the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network before an end of the recording period.

[020] In one variant, the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement may include at least one of a reference signal received power measurement or a reference signal received quality measurement.

[021] In a variant, the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement may include a block error rate measurement.

[022] In a variant, the method may further include associating the measurement with time information related to an actual measurement time instant.

[023] In a variant, the method may additionally include collecting available information about the precise location at a measurement time.

[024] In a variant, the method may further include taking into account a validity time of the available precise location information.

[025] In a variant, the record may include recording the duration of the measurement period used when calculating a measurement result.

[026] In one variant, the duration of the measurement period may be presented as the number of recording periods, radio frames or radio sub-frames.

[027] In a variant, the duration of the measurement period can be presented as the absolute time.

[028] According to a second embodiment, an apparatus may include means for recording, by a user equipment, a single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement corresponding to a recording period. The apparatus may also include means for storing, at the time the single-frequency broadcast-multicast network measurement is made, the cell measurement results.

[029] In one variant, cell measurement results can be used for coarse location estimation.

[030] In one variant, the user equipment may record only one most recent measurement of the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network before an end of the recording period.

[031] In one variant, the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement may include at least one of a reference signal received power measurement or a reference signal quality measurement.

[032] In a variant, the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement may include a block error rate measurement.

[033] In a variant, the apparatus may further include means for associating the measurement with real-time information related to an instantaneous measurement time.

[034] In one variant, the apparatus may additionally include means for collecting information about the precise location available at a time of measurement.

[035] In one variant, the apparatus may further include means for taking into account a time of validity of the available precise location information.

[036] In a variant, the record may include recording the duration of the measurement period used when calculating a measurement result.

[037] In a variant, the duration of the measurement period may be presented as the number of recording periods, radio frames or radio sub-frames.

[038] In a variant, the duration of the measurement period can be presented as the absolute time.

[039] According to a third embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least record, by a user equipment, a corresponding broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement. to a registration period. The at least one memory and computer program code may also be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least store, at the time when measurement of the broadcast-multicast single frequency network is done, the cell measurement results.

[040] In one variant, cell measurement results can be used for coarse location estimation.

[041] In one variant, the user equipment may be configured to record only a single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period.

[042] In one variant, the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement may include at least one of a received reference signal power measurement or a received reference signal quality measurement.

[043] In a variant, the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement may include a block error rate measurement.

[044] In one variant, the at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least associate the measurement with time information related to an instant of current instantaneous measurement time.

[045] In one variant, at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least collect available information about the exact location of a measurement time.

[046] In one variant, at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least take into account a validity time of available precise location information. .

[047] According to a fourth embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be encoded with instructions that, when executed in hardware, execute a process. The process may be the method according to the first embodiment, in any of its variants.

[048] According to a fifth embodiment, a computer program product can encode instructions for executing a process. The process may be the method according to the first embodiment, in any of its variants.

[049] According to a sixth embodiment, a method may include using, by a user equipment, a predetermined number of samples to calculate a single-frequency broadcast-multicast network measurement result. The method may also include determining a time from a first sample of a predetermined number of samples to a last sample of the predetermined number of samples. The method may also include associating the determined time with the measurement result, which is to be recorded.

[050] In a variant, the method may further include recording the measurement result with the associated time.

[051] In one variant, time is represented in at least one mode selected from time in seconds, time as the number of frames or sub-frames, or time as the number of recording periods.

[052] In the variant, the method may further include adding information to the record, including information about whether all samples are from the same recording period or whether successive recorded results are the same.

[053] According to a seventh embodiment, an apparatus may include means for using a predetermined number of samples to calculate a broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement result. The apparatus may also include means for determining a time interval from a first sample of a predetermined number of samples to a last sample of the predetermined number of samples. The apparatus may further include means for associating the determined time with the measurement result, which is to be recorded.

[054] In a variant, the apparatus may further include means for recording the measurement result with the associated time.

[055] In one variant, time is represented in at least one mode selected from time in seconds, time as the number of frames or sub-frames, or time as the number of recording periods.

[056] In the variant, the apparatus may further include means for adding information to the record including information about whether all samples are from the same recording period or whether successive recorded results are the same.

[057] According to an eighth embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and computer program code may be configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to use at least a predetermined number of samples to calculate a broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement result. . The at least one memory and computer program code may be configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to determine at least once from a first sample of a predetermined number of samples to a last sample of the number predetermined number of samples. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least associate the determined time with the measurement result, which is to be recorded.

[058] In one variant, at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least record the measurement result with the associated time.

[059] In one variant, time is represented in at least one mode selected from time in seconds, time as the number of frames or sub-frames, or time as the number of recording periods.

[060] In variant, the at least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least add information to the record including information about whether all samples are from the same recording period or whether successive recorded results are the same.

[061] According to a ninth embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be encoded with instructions that, when executed in hardware, execute a process. The process may be the method according to the sixth embodiment, in any variants thereof.

[062] According to a tenth embodiment, a computer program product can encode instructions for executing a process. The process may be the method according to the sixth embodiment, in any variants thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[063] For a good understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the attached drawings, in which:

[064] Figure 1 illustrates the MBSFN measurement record according to certain embodiments.

[065] Figure 2 illustrates a method according to certain embodiments.

[066] Figure 3 illustrates a system according to certain embodiments.

[067] Figure 4 illustrates MCH reception when monitoring only MCCH.

[068] Figure 5 illustrates MCH reception against registration periods.

[069] Figure 6 illustrates another method according to certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[070] All of the problems described above can become a challenge to determine when the UE should actually record the MSBFN results, what the timing information should be, and how to deal with location validity. If current recording principles are used, the UE would record at the end of the recording period where there may not be any valid MBSFN measurement results: measurements may be "outdated" in case of longer recording periodicities, and location at the end of the period recording cannot be important for the measurement sample. Therefore, the UE may not be able to register any valid MBSFN result and the registration entry for a registration period may be empty or unusable.

[071] Thus, the MBSFN measurement record in certain embodiments includes the following features, either alone or in various combinations. The UE may store the latest MBSFN measurement result as it becomes available before the end of the registration period. The measurement result can be associated with time information related to the actual measurement time instant, not the end time of the recording period. Furthermore, the validity of the available precise location information can be checked at the time of measurement and stored if valid. The time information associated with the instant in time of measurement can be stored at the same time. Furthermore, coarse location information based on cell measurement results can be stored in time when MBSFN measurements are made.

[072] Although recording and storage may generally refer to similar recording techniques, for clarity, the term "store" and "record" are used differently to help elucidate some aspects of certain embodiments. For example, the UE may "store" multiple results during the recording period, but only the last one is "recorded" for reporting later.

[073] Effective measurement storage may be primarily random, depending on the allocation and scheduling of MBMS control and traffic channels. It may, however, only be one registration entry per registration period, in the same way as with legacy registered MDT.

[074] The recording principle can be applied to both RSRP / RSRQ and BLER measurements. In both cases, the network (NW) may be aware of the approach used to determine the location relative to the measurement samples.

[075] Figure 1 illustrates recording MBSFN measurement according to certain embodiments. More particularly, Figure 1 illustrates the principle of how measurements can be recorded in accordance with a form of implementation of a method according to certain embodiments. The vertical lines represent the time at which the configured logging frequency is indicated. In current recorded measurements, available measurement samples are recorded at the defined recording time instants, i.e. at the end of each recording period.

[076] The blocks of Figure 1 represent the transmission and reception of MBMS sub-frames, for example, in PMCH, for the given MBSFN area and the service received by the UE. In this illustration, the configured recording period and assumed sampling time instants are completely unrelated to the samples that the UE can begin from the MBSFN transmission.

[077] In certain embodiments, the input record for each recording period may be the last measurement result, stored before the end of the recording period. The last result stored in each period is illustrated with different shading. There cannot be one last result stored per recording period, and this last stored result may be the only registry entry stored during the recording period.

[078] The measurement result can be associated with time information at the instant of time when the measurement result becomes ready. Information about the exact location can be checked at the moment the measurement result becomes available and can be stored if considered valid with respect to the measurement time.

[079] Measurements can be filtered or weighted using multiple samples. In this case, the time instant and local validity may be related to the last measurement sample. This principle can be applied to both RSRP/RSRQ and BLER measurements. Furthermore, the time of information to be stored may be related to the time of the last measurement sample.

[080] In certain embodiments, measurements and related time/location can be made essentially independent. Thus, recording can be done according to the given (MDT) configuration (recording period), while measurements can be carried out independently following the current reception of the MBSFN(s) signal. These two operations may be uncorrelated. Thus, certain modalities define what must be recorded, and when it is to be recorded, when there is more or less random and independent reception of data during the recording period.

[081] The previous discussion described what measurement result(s) can be recorded in each recording period and how location and time information can be associated with the result. However, additional or new information may be added to the log entry. The new information may include the length of the measurement period used in calculating the measurement result. Although the approach described in the previous discussion can be used in combination with approaches for providing additional or new information in record entry, they can also be used separately. The duration of the measurement period can be presented as the number of recording periods, radio frames or radio sub-frames. Alternatively, or in addition, the length of the measurement period can be presented as absolute time.

[082] As mentioned above, conventionally the reported data, the record that reports to the network for MDT data analysis and post-processing, lacks information whether consecutive RSRP/RSRQ results are correlated, or even the same, or whether they are completely independent measurement samples. This information can be useful in analyzing MDT (e.g. post-processing network) to be able to identify possible problems with the quality of MBSFN and possible problems related to certain locations.

[083] Furthermore, the duration of the measurement period may even be from [640] ms and currently longer, which means that the network may not be able to deduce the timing information from the configuration parameters. Furthermore, the MBSFN MDT record conventionally does not include any scheduling information related to the transmission of the MCH during the measurement period.

[084] Assuming that there is a minimum number of samples, the received PMCH, for measuring MBSFN, the UE can be configured to use the last five samples, or any required/specified number of samples, to calculate the result from MBSFN RSRP/RSRQ. Then, the UE may count the length of time from receiving the first sample until the last sample, in this case, the fifth sample, is used for the measurement result. The time information can be associated with the measurement result, which is to record the MBSFN record with the measurement result. Time can be represented in a variety of ways, such as time in seconds, time as the number of frames or sub-frames, or the number of recording periods, that is, how many recording periods are in the measurement period or five sample intervals.

[085] Information added to the record may optionally include information about whether all samples are from the same record period or not. The UE may also record whether successive recorded results are the same. For example, a successive recorded result may be calculated from the same samples, for example, when no MCH was received during the last recording period.

[086] The UE may also record correlation of successive measurement results. For example, the UE can record how many samples are common with successive recorded results. The correlation can also be presented with another calculated parameter or with an actual correlation value.

[087] If the recording period includes the required minimum number of samples or more samples, the UE may omit any timing/correlation information in the recording entry.

[088] In addition to the above, the UE may indicate whether measurements are performed during reception of MTCH or not. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may indicate whether measurements are performed over a period longer/shorter than a given threshold. This limit can be configured or specified. Additionally, the threshold can be the registration period or any other appropriate value.

[089] The UE may record an empty entry if measurements are taken over a period exceeding a certain threshold, which may be configured or specified, or if there are new samples that were received during the most recent recording period. In such a case, the measurement result would be the same as already recorded. Alternatively, the UE can only record results if samples are taken within a minimum measurement window. The recording principle can be applied to both RSRP/RSRQ and BLER measurements.

[090] In effect, the method may be applicable not only for LTE MBSFN RSRQ/RSRP measurements, but also for MBSFN BLER or any other measurement in which the measurement period is unknown or variable in time, or in which the measurement results may become correlated. The method can also be used with systems other than LTE and use cases other than MBSFN.

[091] Time information may also be sent, in the case of the measurement principle is integrate and dump (I/D) or in another way than a sliding window measurement. With I/D, the correlation between samples can be zero. Thus, no correlation information may be needed. With I/D, recording may not happen every recording period, but only when the minimum required samples have been collected. Registration may then be irregular and may depend on MCCH configuration and MTCH scheduling, whether services are actively multicast/broadcast.

[092] The network may include a timeout or measurement period in the MDT configuration. Alternatively, such a threshold may be stated directly in a standards specification. If the UE collected the measurements within the set time limit, the measurement sample can be viewed as a valid log entry. Otherwise, the sample may be considered an inaccurate log entry. The UE may or may not record the result that the time limit has been exceeded. If connected, the UE may include an indication of the time exceeding the threshold. Alternatively, recording can be omitted if the time is greater than the threshold.

[093] Figure 2 illustrates a method according to certain embodiments. As shown in Figure 2, a method may include, at 210, recording, by a user equipment, a single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement corresponding to a recording period. User equipment can only record one most recent broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period.

[094] The broadcast-multicast single frequency measurement network may include at least one of a reference signal received power measurement or a reference signal received quality measurement. Alternatively, or in addition, the measurement of the single broadcast-multicast frequency network may include a measurement of the block error frequency.

[095] The method may also include, at 220, associating the measurement with real-time information related to an instantaneous measurement time. The method may further include, at 230, collecting available precise location information at each measurement time. The method may additionally include, at 235, taking into account a validity time of the available precise location information.

[096] The method may also include, at 240, storing, at the time the broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement is made, one or more cell measurement results. Cell measurement results can be used for coarse location estimation.

[097] Figure 3 illustrates a system according to certain embodiments of the invention. It should be understood that each block of the flow diagram of Figure 2 can be applied by various means or combinations thereof, such as hardware, software, firmware, one or more processors and/or circuits. In one embodiment, a system may include several devices, such as, for example, network element 310 and the user equipment (UE), or user device 320. The system may include more than one UE 320 and more than a network element 310, although only one of each is shown for illustration purposes. A network element can be an access point, a base station, an eNode B (ENB), or any other network element. Each of these devices may include at least one control unit or module or processor, respectively denoted as 314 and 324. At least one memory may be provided in each device, and denoted as 315 and 325, respectively. The memory may include computer program instructions or computer code contained therein. One or more transceivers 316 and 326 may be provided, and each device may also include an antenna, as illustrated respectively at 317 and 327. Although only one antenna is shown, many antennas of multiple antenna elements may be provided to each of the devices. For example, a two-dimensional array of antenna elements may be used per network element 310. Other configurations of these devices, for example, may be provided. For example, network element 310 and UE 320 may be further configured for wired communication in addition to wireless communication, and in such a case, antennas 317 and 327 may illustrate any form of communication hardware, without being limited to just an antenna.

[098] Transceivers 316 and 326 may each independently be a transmitter, a receiver, or a transmitter and a receiver, or a unit or device that can be configured for both transmission and reception. The transmitter and/or receiver (to the extent that the radio parts are related) may also be implemented as a remote radio head that is not located on the device itself, but on a mast, for example. It should also be understood that according to the "net" or flexible radio concept, functionalities and operations can be performed on different entities, such as nodes, or host servers, in a flexible manner. In other words, the division of labor may vary from case to case. One possible use is to have a network element serve local content. One or more functionalities can also be implemented as a virtual application, which is like software that can run on the server.

[099] A user device or user equipment 320 may be a mobile station (MS), such as a mobile phone or smart phone or multimedia device, a computer, such as a tablet, endowed with wireless communication capabilities, or assistant digital or personal data recorder (PDA) provided with wireless communication capabilities, portable media player, digital camera, portable video camera, navigation unit provided with wireless communication capabilities or any combinations thereof. The user device or user equipment 320 may be a smart sensor or meter, or other device that may be typically configured for a single location.

[0100] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus, such as a user node or device, may include means for carrying out the embodiments described above in relation to Figure 2.

[0101] Processors 314 and 324 may be embodied by any computational or data processing device, such as a central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable logic devices (PLD), field programmable array arrays (FPGA), digital enhanced circuits or comparable device or a combination thereof. Processors can be implemented as a single controller, or a plurality of controllers or processors. Additionally, processors can be implemented as a pool of processors in an on-premises configuration, in a cloud configuration, or in a combination thereof.

[0102] For firmware or software, the application may include modules or units of at least one chip set (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on). Memories 315 and 325 may independently be any suitable storage device, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. Hard disk drive (HDD), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, or other suitable memory can be used. The memories can be combined into a single integrated circuit, such as the processor, or they can be independent of it. Furthermore, computer program instructions may be stored in memory and which may be processed by the processors may be any suitable form of computer program code, for example, a compiled or interpreted computer program written in any suitable programming language. . The memory entity or data store is typically internal, but may also be external or a combination thereof, such as where additional memory capacity is obtained from a service provider. Memory can be fixed or removable.

[0103] The memory and computer program instructions may be configured, with the processor for the particular device, to cause a hardware device, such as network element 310 and/or the UE 320, to execute any of the processes described previously (see, for example, Figure 2). Therefore, in certain embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be encoded with computer instructions or one or more computer programs (such as an added or updated software routine, applet, or macro) that, when executed on hardware, can execute a process such as one of the processes described herein. Computer programs can be coded by a programming language, which can be a high-level programming language such as Objective-C, C, C++, C#, Java, etc., or a low-level programming language. level, such as machine language, or assembler. Alternatively, certain embodiments of the invention may be realized entirely in hardware.

[0104] Furthermore, although Figure 3 illustrates a system that includes a network element 310 and a UE 320, embodiments of the invention can be applied to other configurations and configurations that contain additional elements, as illustrated and discussed here. For example, multiple user equipment devices and multiple network elements may be present, or other nodes that provide similar functionality, such as nodes, that combine the functionality of a user equipment and an access point, such as a relay node .

[0105] Figure 6 illustrates another method according to certain embodiments. As shown in Figure 6, the method may include, at 610, utilizing, by a user equipment, a predetermined number of samples to calculate a broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement result. The method may also include, at 620, determining a time from a first sample of a predetermined number of samples to a last sample of the predetermined number of samples. The method may further include, at 630, associating the determined time with the measurement result, which is to be recorded. The method also includes, at 640, recording the measurement result with the associated time. The method may further include, at 650, the addition of record information including information about whether all samples are from the same record period or whether successive recorded results are the same.

[0106] Certain modalities may have various benefits and/or advantages. For example, certain embodiments may provide an unambiguous definition regarding when the UE should record MBSFN measurement results and how to add associated time and location information. Furthermore, certain embodiments may avoid the need to add new MBSFN registration configuration parameters, as only the UE procedure may need to be defined. Furthermore, in certain embodiments there may be no wastage of any MBSFN results, which might otherwise be the case if the recording was to be made at the end of the recording period, as now, and if there were no measurement results. valid ones available.

[0107] Furthermore, certain embodiments may provide sufficient information for the analysis of MBSFN MDT data in order to be able to correctly analyze the reported data for any questions/solutions to be made for the quality of the MBSM service. Furthermore, certain embodiments may utilize an additional function for the UE to provide complete information related to a connected MBSFN measurement result. Additionally, certain embodiments may allow for better MBSFN optimization/verification. Furthermore, certain embodiments can indirectly improve the provisioning of MBMS services.

[0108] Some modalities have been described with respect to MBSFN measurements. However, the applicability of these modalities is not limited to MBSFN, but the described principles can also be used with other measurements.

[0109] A technically skilled person will readily understand that the invention, as discussed above, can be practiced with the steps in a different order, and/or with the hardware elements in configurations that are different from those that are disclosed. Therefore, although the invention has been described based on preferred embodiments thereof, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention. PARTIAL GLOSSARY BLER - CR Block error rate - Change Request DCCH - Dedicated control channel eNB - Hardened Node GNSS - Global Satellite Navigation System GPS - Global Positioning System HSS - Home subscription server or home subscriber server MBMS - MBSFN multimedia broadcast multicast service - MCCH multimedia broadcast single frequency network - MDT MBMS Control Channel - MTCH Drive Tests Minimization - OFDM MBMS Traffic Channel - PMCH orthogonal frequency division multiplexing - MBMS Physical Channel RRC - radio resource control RS - reference signal RSRP - received power of reference signal RSRQ - Received quality of reference signal SIB - System Information Block UE - User equipment

Claims (36)

1. METHOD, characterized by: recording (210), by a user equipment (320), a single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement corresponding to a recording period for later reporting; and storing, at the time the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement is made, the cell measurement results, wherein the time at which the measurement is made is independent of the time at which the recording is performed. 2. METHOD, according to claim 1, characterized in that the cell measurement results are used for coarse location estimation. 3. METHOD according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that user equipment (320) records a most up-to-date broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period. 4. METHOD according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that user equipment (320) records only one most up-to-date broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period. 5. METHOD according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the measurement of the single-frequency broadcast-multicast network comprises at least one of a reference signal received power measurement or a measurement of the received signal quality. reference. 6. METHOD according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the measurement of the single-frequency broadcast-multicast network comprises a block error rate measurement. 7. METHOD, according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by further comprising: associating (220) the measurement with real-time information related to a measurement time instant. 8. METHOD, according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by further comprising: collecting (230) precise location information available at a measurement time. 9. METHOD, according to claim 8, characterized by further comprising: taking into account (235) a validity time of the available precise location information. 10. METHOD, according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that recording comprises recording the duration of the measurement period used when calculating a measurement result. 11. METHOD, according to claim 10, characterized in that the duration of the measurement period is presented as the number of recording periods, radio frames or radio sub-frames. 12. METHOD, according to claim 10, characterized in that the duration of the measurement period is presented as the absolute time. 13. APPARATUS (320), characterized by comprising: means for recording, by a user equipment, a single broadcast-multicast frequency network measurement corresponding to a recording period for later reporting; and means for storing, at the time the broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement is made, cell measurement results, wherein the time at which the measurement is made is independent of the time at which the recording is performed. 14. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 13, characterized by further comprising: means for using the cell measurement results for coarse location estimation. 15. APPARATUS (320) according to any one of claims 13 and 14, characterized in that the user equipment is configured to record a most up-to-date broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period. 16. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the user equipment is configured to record only one most up-to-date broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period. 17. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that the measurement of the single-frequency broadcast-multicast network comprises at least one of a reference signal received power measurement or a quality measurement received from the reference signal. 18. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that the measurement of the single-frequency broadcast-multicast network comprises a block error rate measurement. 19. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized by further comprising: means for associating the measurement with time information related to a real measurement time instant. 20. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 13 to 19, characterized by further comprising: means for collecting precise location information available at a measurement time. 21. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 20, characterized by further comprising: means for taking into account a validity time of the available precise location information. 22. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 13 to 21, characterized in that recording comprises recording the duration of the measurement period used when calculating a measurement result. 23. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 22, characterized in that the duration of the measurement period is presented as the number of recording periods, radio frames or radio sub-frames. 24. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 22, characterized in that the duration of the measurement period is presented as the absolute time. 25. APPARATUS (320), characterized by comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory is configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus (320) to at least: record (210), by a user equipment, a network measurement single broadcast-multicast frequency corresponding to a recording period for later reporting; and store in time the broadcast-multicast single-frequency network measurement that is made, the cell measurement results, wherein the time at which the measurement is made is independent of the time at which the recording is performed. 26. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 25, characterized in that at least one memory is configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus (320) to at least use the cell measurement results to the rough location estimate. 27. APPARATUS (320) according to any one of claims 25 and 26, characterized in that the user equipment is configured to record a most updated broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period. 28. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 25 to 27, characterized in that the user equipment is configured to record only one most up-to-date broadcast-multicast single frequency network measurement before the end of the recording period. 29. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 25 to 28, characterized in that the measurement of the single-frequency broadcast-multicast network comprises at least one of a reference signal received power measurement or a received quality measurement reference signal. 30. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 25 to 29, characterized in that the measurement of the single-frequency broadcast-multicast network comprises a block error rate measurement. 31. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 25 to 30, characterized in that at least one memory is configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus (320) to at least associate (220) measurement with time information related to a real measurement time instant. 32. APPARATUS (320), according to any one of claims 25 to 31, characterized in that at least one memory can be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to collect (230), at least, Precise location information available at a measurement time. 33. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 32, characterized in that at least one memory is configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus (320) to at least take into account (235) a Validity time of available precise location information. 34. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 33, characterized in that the duration of the measurement period is presented as the number of recording periods, radio frames or radio sub-frames. 35. APPARATUS (320), according to claim 33, characterized in that the duration of the measurement period is presented as the absolute time. 36. NON-TRAINING COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA, characterized by comprising instructions that, when executed in hardware, execute a process, the process comprising the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 12.