WO2015169384A1

WO2015169384A1 - Conditional benefit metric transmission for coordinated multipoint (comp) hypothesis for wireless networks

Info

Publication number: WO2015169384A1
Application number: PCT/EP2014/059519
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jani Matti Johannes Moilanen; Xiaoyi Wang; Suresh Kalyanasundaram
Original assignee: Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
Priority date: 2014-05-09
Filing date: 2014-05-09
Publication date: 2015-11-12

Abstract

An example technique may include determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, determining a threshold value, comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

Description

DESCRIPTION

TITLE

CONDITIONAL BENEFIT METRIC TRANSMISSION FOR COORDINATED MULTIPOINT

(COMP) HYPOTHESIS FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001 ] This description relates to communications networks.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A communication system may be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices. Signals can be carried on wired or wireless carriers.

[0003] An example of a cellular communication system is an architecture that is being standardized by the 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). A recent development in this field is often referred to as the long-term evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio-access technology. E-UTRA (evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is the air interface of 3GPP's Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile networks. In LTE, base stations, which are referred to as enhanced Node Bs (eNBs), provide wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, mobile devices, or mobile stations are referred to as user equipments (UE). LTE has included a number of improvements or developments.

SUMMARY

[0004] According to an example implementation, a method may include determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0005] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, compare the benefit metric to a threshold value, control sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0006] According to another example implementation, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code that, when executed by at least one data processing apparatus, is configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to perform a method including: determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource; comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0007] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes means for determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, means for comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value, means for controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0008] According to another example implementation, a method includes determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, determining a threshold value, comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0009] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, control receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, determine a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, determining a threshold value, compare the relative benefit to the threshold value, and control sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value. [0010] According to another example implementation, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code that, when executed by at least one data processing apparatus, is configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to perform a method including: determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, determining a threshold value, comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0011 ] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means for determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, means for controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, means for determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, means for determining a threshold value, means for comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value, and means for controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0012] The details of one or more examples of implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network 110 according to an example implementation.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating operation of stations according to an example implementation.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a station according to an example implementation.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a station according to another example implementation. [0017] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a wireless device (e.g., user device, BS or other wireless device) 500 according to an example implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Various example implementations are provided relating to conditionally transmitting benefit metrics (or benefit metric messages) to a base station or control station. A base station (BS) may determine a benefit metric that quantifies a benefit that a cell may receive for a resource allocation applied to a target cell for a resource. The BS may determine whether the benefit metric satisfies a criteria or condition. In an example implementation, the BS may send (or control sending) the benefit metric to a BS associated with the target cell (in the example case of distributed resource allocation) or to a control station (in the example case of centralized resource allocation) if the benefit metric satisfies the criteria or condition. In this manner, only relatively significant benefit metrics may be sent to a BS or control station for consideration in making a decision as to whether a total benefit of applying the resource allocation to the target cell may outweigh a penalty to the target cell, for example.

[0019] An example technique may include determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0020] Another example technique may include determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, determining a threshold value, comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0021 ] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network 1 10 according to an example implementation. In the wireless network 1 10 of FIG. 1 , wireless cells 1 10, 120 and 130 provide wireless services to one or more user devices or mobile stations. For example, a base station (BS) 124, which may also be referred to as an enhanced Node B (eNB), may provide wireless services (or wireless coverage) to user devices within cell 120; BS 134 may provide wireless services to user devices within cell 130; and BS 144 may provide wireless services to user devices within cell 140. For example, one or more user devices 126 and 128, which may also be referred to as user equipments (UEs), may be connected (and in communication) with BS 124. User device 136 may be connected to and in communication with BS 134. User device 146 may be connected to and/or in communication with BS 144. At least part of the functionalities of a base station or (e)Node B may be also be carried out by any node, server or host which may be operably coupled to a transceiver, such as a remote radio head.

[0022] Each of the BSs 124, 134 and 144 may be connected to a core network 150 via a S1 interface. In addition, each of the BSs may be connected to each other via a BS-to-BS interface, such as an X2 interface. For example, BS 124 may be connected to BS 134 via interface 121 ; BS 124 may be connected to BS 144 via interface 131 ; and, BS 134 may be connected to BS 144 via interface 141 . This is merely one simple example of a wireless network, and others may be used. Any number of cells, base stations and user devices may be provided.

[0023] A user device (user terminal, user equipment (UE)) may, for example, refer to a portable computing device that includes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of devices: a mobile station, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handset, a device using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), a laptop and/or touch screen computer, a tablet, a phablet, a game console, a notebook, and a multimedia device, as examples. It should be appreciated that a user device may also be a nearly exclusive uplink only device, of which an example is a camera or video camera loading images or video clips to a network.

[0024] In LTE, as an example wireless network, core network 150 may be referred to as Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which may include a mobility management entity (MME) which may handle or assist with mobility/handover of user devices between BSs, one or more gateways that may forward data and control signals between the BSs and packet data networks or the Internet, and other control functions or blocks.

[0025] Inter-cell interference, e.g., between cells 120, 130 and/or 140 shown in FIG. 1 , may reduce spectral efficiency and/or may reduce data throughput in one or more of the cells. Therefore, according to an example implementation, coordinated scheduling of resources among the cells may be used to reduce interference between cells.

[0026] According to an example implementation, a BS 134 may determine a benefit metric quantifying a benefit (or estimated benefit) that a cell 130 would receive if a proposed or hypothetical resource allocation is applied to one or more cells for a resource, such as being applied to a target cell 120. A hypothetical resource allocation may, for example, specify a beam selection for a target cell so as to reduce the amount of data (or data throughput) transmitted by the target cell for a specified resource. The resource allocation may alternatively specify a decrease in transmission power for the target cell for a specified resource, or may specify muting of the target cell for the specified resource, where muting may include, for example, ceasing transmission (either uplink or downlink) within the target cell for the specified resource. These are merely a few examples of a resource allocation that may be applied to one or more cells, including being applied to a target cell, which may decrease inter-cell interference for a resource. The resource allocation may similarly specify a beam selection, power adjustment, and/or muting of a cell, for one or more cells for the same resource(s), e.g., such that a first cell may be muting for a resource while a second cell may be transmitting (e.g., scheduling a user device within the second cell to transmit) so as to decrease inter-cell interference between the first cell and second cell for this resource(s) and allow the second cell to receive the benefit of the first cell's muting for this resource.

[0027] A resource may be, or may include, for example, a frequency resource, a time resource, and/or a code resource. For example, a resource may include one or more physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the time and frequency domains, or a resource block group (RBG) which may include a plurality of PRBs, for example.

[0028] According to one or more examples described herein, a BS 134

(associated with or providing services for cell 130) may determine a benefit metric quantifying a benefit (or estimated benefit) that a cell 130 would receive if a proposed or hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a cell 120. Similarly, BS 144 (associated with or providing services for cell 140) may determine a benefit metric quantifying a benefit (or estimated benefit) that a cell 140 would receive if the proposed or hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a cell 120. Thus, in this example, cell 120 may be referred to as a target cell because the proposed or hypothetical resource allocation is targeted or directed to cell 120, e.g., to mute cell 120 for a specified resource. Cells 130 and 140 in this example may be referred to as source cells because these cells 130, 140 are the source of the benefit metrics that may be sent to BS 124, e.g., as a request to apply the hypothetical resource allocation (e.g., cell muting) to cell 120 for a specific resource.

[0029] According to an example implementation, BS 124 may receive a benefit metric from BS 134 identifying the benefit to cell 130 and the benefit metric from BS 144 identifying the benefit to cell 140 for the hypothetical resource allocation to cell 120 (e.g., muting of cell 120) for the resource. BS 124 may also determine a penalty metric quantifying a penalty that may be incurred by the target cell 120 if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the cell 120 for the resource. BS 124, or a control station or central controller, may also determine whether to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the cell 120 for the resource, e.g., if the total benefit to cells 130 and 140 is greater than the penalty incurred by cell 120.

[0030] BS 134 (as an example BS), may use a variety of different techniques to determine a benefit metric quantifying a benefit (or an estimated benefit) that cell 130 (as an example cell) would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to cell 120 for a resource. For example, BS 134 may receive channel information from one or more user devices within cell 130, e.g., from user device 136 and other user devices (not shown) within cell 130. The channel information received by BS 134 from one or more user devices within cell 130 may include a first channel information that provides channel information (as measured by the user device) for a reference resource allocation (or when the reference resource allocation has been applied), which may also be referred to as a reference coordinated multipoint (CoMP) hypothesis, and a second channel information from the user device that provides channel information for the hypothetical resource allocation (or when the hypothetical resource allocation has been applied), which may also be referred to as a hypothetical CoMP hypothesis. A user device may measure channel information for resources with respect to a resource allocation (e.g., cell muting) applied to a plurality of other cells that are on the CoMP set for the user device. For example, BS 134 may determine a benefit metric quantifying the benefit the cell 130 would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation (or hypothetical CoMP hypothesis) is applied to cell 120 e.g., based on a difference between the first channel information and the second channel information. This is merely one example, and other techniques may be used to determine a benefit metric.

[0031 ] The channel information may include, for example, a received signal strength of a signal received by a user device within the first cell, a reference signal received power (RSRP) as received by the user device within the first cell, a channel state information (CSI) as measured by a user device within the first cell, and/or a channel quality indicator (CQI) that indicates a highest modulation and coding scheme at which an error rate does not exceed an error threshold, or other information These are some examples, and other channel information may be used.

[0032] For example, a user device 136 may send to BS 134 a first CQI and a second CQI, where the first CQI is measured by the user device 136 within cell 130 for a resource with respect to the reference resource allocation or reference CoMP hypothesis (e.g., when the cell 120 is transmitting for/during the resource, or a resource at the same frequency), while the second CQI measured by the user device 136 within cell 130 with respect to the hypothetical resource allocation or the hypothetical CoMP hypothesis (e.g., when the cell 120 is muted or not transmitting for the resource, or muted during a similar resource or resource on a same frequency, for example). Thus, in this example, the difference between the first CQI value (associated with the reference resource allocation) and the second CQI (associated with the hypothetical resource allocation) may be used to determine a benefit to cell 130 of applying the hypothetical resource allocation to cell 120 (e.g., muting of the cell 120) for the resource.

[0033] For example, the first CQI may identify a first MCS that may be used by cell 130 when the reference resource allocation is applied to cell 120, e.g., when the cell 120 is transmitting (not muted) for the resource. For example, the user device 136 within cell 130 may measure the first CQI for signals within cell 130 when the cell 120 is transmitting. The second CQI may identify a second MCS (e.g., which may identify a higher MCS due to reduced inter-cell interference from the cell 120) that may be used by the cell 130 when the hypothetical resource allocation is applied, e.g., when the cell 120 is muted or not transmitting. The user device 136 may measure this second CQI based on signals transmitted in the cell 130 while the cell 120 is muted or not transmitting.

[0034] In an example implementation, each CQI (or CQI and resource), for example, may be converted to a data throughput or a corresponding number of bits based on the MCS and number of symbols within the resource, for example. Based on the number of bits or difference in data throughput for the two CQI values, an increase in data throughput may be determined for the resource for the hypothetical resource allocation, as compared to the reference resource allocation. For example, the benefit metric quantifying the benefit (e.g., 70 bits, or 70 bits/second) received by cell 130 if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to cell 120 (e.g., cell 120 is muted) for the resource may be provided to the second cell as, or based upon, this increase or change in data throughput for cell 130. This is merely one example technique for determining a benefit metric, and many other techniques may be used to determine a benefit metric.

[0035] According to an example implementation, a BS 134 may determine benefit metrics for cell 130 (identifying or quantifying a benefit to be received by cell 130) for each of a plurality of resources for a target cell, e.g., for cell 120, and may transmit these benefit metrics to cell 120 (or to BS 124 associated with cell 120). For example, each benefit metric message may be transmitted via the BS-to-BS interface (e.g., X2 interface) 121 to BS 124/cell 120, and may include one or more fields, such as, for example, a source cell ID (e.g., identifying cell 130 for which the benefit would be received), a target cell ID (e.g., identifying the cell 120 for which the hypothetical resource allocation or muting is to be applied), information identifying the resource (e.g., PRBs, RBGs), information describing the hypothetical resource allocation (muting, transmission power reduction, beam selection, etc. to be applied to cell 120), and the benefit metric (e.g., the increase in data throughput that would be experienced by the source cell/reporting cell). Other fields may be included in a benefit metric message, and one or more of these fields may be optional. For example, it may be implied, or previously communicated to cell 120, that the hypothetical resource allocation is a muting of the target cell (e.g., cell 120) for the specified resource(s). As a result, for example, it may be unnecessary for a benefit metric message to identify or describe the hypothetical resource allocation. Thus, for example, these benefit metrics may quantify a (or any) benefit that may be received by the source cell/reporting cell (e.g., cell 130) if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied by the target cell (e.g., cell 120).

[0036] A BS 134 (associated with cell 130) may measure and send benefit metrics to one or more other BSs within its cluster, or within its CoMP set of cells, which may simply be a list of neighbor cells or neighbor BSs for example, such as to BS 124/cell 120, BS 144/cell 140, etc. Similarly, other cells may measure and report benefit metrics quantifying a benefit received by the reporting cell based on a hypothetical (or proposed) resource allocation applied to the target cell that receives the benefit metric (e.g., based on a muting of the target cell) for a resource. In this manner, cells (or BSs providing or associated with a cell) may periodically (e.g., every transmission time interval (TTI), or every 5 ms, 10ms, 20 ms, etc.) measure and report benefit metrics to cells within its cluster, or to cells within its CoMP set of cells, and/or to one or more neighbor cells/BSs. Thus, cells/BSs may exchange benefit metrics with other cells/BSs. The cells in a CoMP set or a cluster for a cell may be a group of neighbor cells, which may be a static list of neighbors, or may be a dynamic list of cells.

[0037] For example, an initial CoMP set of cells or a cluster of neighbor cells may be set up for cell 130. A new cell may be added to the CoMP set or cluster if the cell 130 receives a benefit metric from a new cell (not already on its CoMP set), and may drop a cell from its CoMP set if the cell 130 does not receive a benefit metric from a neighbor cell within a threshold time period (or if more than the threshold time period has elapsed since receiving a last benefit metric from the neighbor cell). Or, a BS 134 may instruct user device 136 within a cell 130 to drop a neighbor cell 140 from its CoMP set or cluster of cells for channel measurement, and/or to discontinue measuring channel information with respect to on/off (muted) states of the neighbor cell 140 if X period of time has elapsed since the BS 134 has received a benefit metric from such neighbor cell 140. In other words, a failure to receive a benefit metric by BS 134 for cell 130 from a neighbor cell 140/BS 144 for a period of time may indicate that such neighbor cell 140/BS 144 (at least currently) is not an interfering cell, and therefore, it may not be necessary for user devices within cell 130 to measure channel information with respect to neighbor cell 140.

[0038] According to an example implementation, BS 124 (for cell 120) may receive benefit metrics from other cells 130, 140, etc., for various resources. BS 124, associated with cell 120, may determine a total (or cumulative) benefit, for each of the resource(s), that would be received by the multiple reporting cells (e.g., cells 130, 140) if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the cell 120 (e.g., if the cell 120 is muted for the resource). BS 124 may also determine a penalty metric quantifying the penalty that would be received or incurred by the cell 120 in applying the hypothetical resource allocation for the resource, e.g., the penalty incurred by cell 120 in muting for the resource. For example, a loss in data throughput may be calculated for cell 120 for the resource, e.g., based on the quantity of resources and a MCS that may be used by the cell 120 for such resource. Thus, the penalty incurred by the cell 120 in muting for a resource, for example, may be measured as a loss of data throughput based on muting for the resource. Or, in another example, BS 124 may determine a loss in throughput based on what percentage of resources used by cell 120 that will be muted, e.g., if 2/10 PRBs (within a frame or subframe) will be muted by cell 120, then this may be determined to be a 20% reduction is data throughput for cell 120, for example. These are some example penalty measurement techniques, and there are many other ways to determine or calculate a penalty metric that may quantify a penalty incurred by a target cell when applying a resource allocation to the target cell, e.g., when muting the target cell.

[0039] In addition, the penalty incurred by cell 120 in applying the hypothetical resource allocation (e.g., muting cell 120) for the resource may, for example, be weighted or adjusted based on various factors associated with the second cell, such as: buffer status for the cell (e.g., a higher penalty when transmission buffers are more full), a priority or quality of service (QoS) of the data for the subject resources (e.g., higher penalty for higher priority/higher QoS resources), etc.

[0040] After BS 124 determines the penalty incurred by cell 120 for muting the cell 120 for the resource (or for applying the hypothetical resource allocation for the resource), the BS 124 may compare the penalty incurred by cell 120 for the resource to the total benefit obtained by one or more reporting cells (e.g., cells 130, 140 reporting a benefit metric to cell 120) with respect to the resource. According to an example implementation, BS 124 may apply the hypothetical resource allocation to cell 120 (e.g., mute cell 120) for the resource if the total benefit (as reported by neighbor cells or reporting cells) is greater than or outweighs the penalty incurred by the target cell (e.g., cell 120) for the resource. For example, a decision message (e.g., muting decision message) may be sent to each reporting cell (each cell that reported a benefit metric with respect to this resource to cell 120/BS 124) if BS 124 decides to apply the hypothetical resource allocation (e.g., decides to mute cell 120) for the resource to cell 120.

[0041 ] Two different example approaches may be used for resource allocation, including a distributed control for resource allocation, and a central control for resource allocation. According to an example implementation of a distributed resource allocation approach, each BS (or cell) exchanges benefit metrics with other BSs/cells. And, each

BS/cell receives benefit metrics from other cells, determines a penalty that the receiving or target cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the

receiving/target cell, determines a total benefit that would be obtained by multiple cells for the hypothetical resource allocation, compares the total benefit to the penalty incurred by the target cell, makes a decision of whether to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the target cell (e.g., if the total benefit is greater than the penalty, or other criteria), and sends out decision messages to each of the other cells (or BSs that provide such cells) that submitted a benefit metric if it is decided that the hypothetical resource allocation will be applied to the target cell for the resource (e.g., if it is determined that the target cell will be muted for the resource).

[0042] According to an example implementation of a central (or centralized) resource allocation approach, a control station (or central controller) may perform many or all of the functions noted above with respect to receiving benefit metric data and penalty metric data, and making a decision whether or not to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the target cell for a resource. The control station may be, for example, a base station, a user device, or any computing device that may operate to coordinate the allocation of resources within a wireless network. For example, a control station (or central controller) may receive benefit metrics from one or more cells/BSs identifying or quantifying a benefit that would be received by each cell if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a target cell for a resource, and one or more penalty metrics that identify or quantify a penalty that would be incurred or received by the target station if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the target cell for the resource. The control station/central controller may then determine or calculate a total or cumulative benefit that would be obtained by multiple BSs/cells if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the target cell for the resource, and then compares the total benefit to the penalty, and makes a decision whether or not to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the target cell for the resource. For example, the control station may determine to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the target cell if the total benefit is greater than the penalty, or if other condition is satisfied (e.g., total benefit is at least 2x penalty). If a decision is made to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to (e.g., mute) the target cell for the resource, the control station may then send out a decision message (e.g., a muting decision message) to each cell/BS that submitted a benefit metric to the control station for the resource, indicating that the hypothetical resource allocation will be applied to the target station for the resource. Each of the neighbor cells may then, for example, adjust (e.g., increase) its modulation and coding scheme (MCS), for example, for such resource so as to obtain a benefit of increased data throughput, for example, for such resource, based on the application of the hypothetical resource allocation to the (or muting of the) target cell, resulting in lower inter-cell interference for the resource. This process may be performed for each of a plurality of different resources and for different hypothetical resource allocations, for example.

[0043] According to an example implementation, benefit metrics and penalty metrics for cells may be reported to other cells or to a control station as benefit/penalty metrics, with a benefit to a cell being identified with a positive value, and a penalty being identified with a negative value for such metric.

[0044] However, periodically exchanging benefit/penalty metric data between BSs (and/or transmitting such data to a control station/central controller) via a BS-to-BS (e.g., X2) interface may create a substantial number of messages on the X2 interface. In some cases, these messages may overload the X2 (BS-to-BS) interface, or at least create congestion on the X2 interface. Therefore, to reduce the number of X2 messages

(including reducing the number of benefit metric and penalty metric messages) and reduce processing in some cases, according to an example implementation, a BS associated with a source cell (which may receive the benefit) may conditionally send a benefit metric to a control station/central controller (for a central resource allocation approach) or to a BS associated with a target cell (for a distributed resource allocation approach) only if the benefit to be received by the source cell satisfies a specific criteria. This use of a filter or selection criteria to select and send only some of the benefit metrics may reduce an amount of traffic or messages sent between BSs, e.g., via the X2 interface, and may also reduce the amount of processing performed by the receiving station (e.g., fewer benefit metrics to receive and sum to determine a total benefit).

[0045] According to a first example implementation, a cell i (or a BS associated with cell i) may send its benefit metrics to cell j (or to a BS associated with cell j) only if the benefit to cell i of applying a resource allocation to cell j (e.g., muting cell j) is greater than a threshold. Otherwise, cell i does not send its benefit metric to cell j, for example. In this manner, by sending only the benefit metrics that are greater than the threshold, traffic on the BS-to-BS interface or X2 interface may be reduced. Cell i and cell j may typically refer to two different cells. Further details may include one or more of the following.

[0046] In an example implementation, cell j (or a BS associated with cell j) may send its resource allocation decisions (e.g., muting decision) for cell j to cell i (or to a BS associated with cell i) only if cell j has received a benefits metric from cell i and the BS associated with cell i has made the decision to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to cell i (e.g., made the decision to mute cell i).

[0047] Also, in an example implementation, techniques may be provided for a cell/BS to adjust cells in a CoMP set of cells for one or more user devices. A CoMP set for a user device within cell i may, for example, define a set of neighbor cells or nearby cells, such as cells j, k, I, m ... (e.g., neighbor cells) for which the user device may measure and report channel information (e.g., CSI or CQI) for signals within cell i for both muted (where resource allocation is applied to the neighbor cell) and non-muted conditions for each of the neighbor cells. This channel information may be used by a BS or cell to determine a benefit metric. For example, if cell i does not receive a benefit metric from cell j within a specific time duration, then the BS associated with cell i may instruct user devices within cell i to drop cell j from their CoMP sets, e.g., so that channel information with respect to such neighbor cell j will no longer be forwarded by the user device to cell i (or to the BS associated with cell i). Similarly, cell i may instruct user devices within cell i to add a cell z to the CoMP set of the user device, e.g., based on a reference signal received power for (or power of a reference signal from) cell z being greater than a RSRP threshold (e.g., power of reference signals received by user device from neighbor cell z) received by the user device, even though cell z may not (yet) send benefit metrics to cell i.

[0048] According to a second example implementation, a cell i (or a BS associated with cell i) may send its benefit metric(s) to cell j (or to a BS associated with cell j) only if a net benefit or a relative benefit for cell i for applying a resource allocation to cell j (e.g., muting cell j) is greater than a threshold. A net benefit or relative benefit for cell i may be determined based on the benefit metric for cell i for applying the resource allocation to cell j as compared to the penalty to cell j, e.g., which may be determined, for example, as either: 1 ) a net benefit determined as a benefit metric for cell i - penalty of cell j, or 2) a relative benefit determined as a ratio of the benefit metric for cell i to the penalty to cell j, which may be represented as: relative benefit = benefit metric for cell i/penalty to cell j. Thus, for example, if the net benefit or relative benefit to cell i based on muting of cell j (e.g., ratio of benefit metric for cell i to penalty to cell j) is greater than a threshold, then cell i (or BS associated with cell i) may send the benefit metric for cell i to cell j (or to BS associated with cell j). Otherwise, if the net benefit or relative benefit for cell i is not greater than the threshold, then the benefit metric quantifying the benefit for cell i based on the application of a hypothetical resource allocation to cell j is not sent to cell j.

[0049] According to an illustrative example, BS 134 may determine a benefit metric quantifying the benefit that cell 130 would receive for applying a resource allocation to each neighbor cell, including for cell 120 (e.g., for muting cell 120) and cell 140, for a resource. For example, for non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR) traffic, a benefit metric may be determined as a difference in proportional fairness metrics realized by cell 130 when a target cell (e.g., cell 120) is muted vs. when the target cell is not muted.

[0050] BS 134 may receive a penalty metric from each neighbor cell quantifying the penalty the neighbor cell would incur if the resource allocation is applied to the neighbor cell. Thus, for example, BS 134, for cell 130, may receive a penalty metric from cell 120/BS 124 identifying a penalty for cell 120 if the neighbor cell 120 is muted for the resource, and BS 134 may receive a penalty metric from cell 140/BS 144 identifying a penalty for cell 140 if the cell 140 is muted for the resource. Thus, according to an example implementation, the BS 134 or a control station may determine a relative benefit for cell 130 for each neighbor cell for the resource (e.g., based on the proposed muting of cell 120 and the proposed muting of cell 140). For example, a relative benefit for cell 130 may be determined as a ratio of the benefit metric for cell 130 to the penalty to cell 120 for the muting of cell 120. If this relative benefit for cell 130 with respect to a muting of cell 120 is greater than a threshold (e.g., greater than .5, .75, 1 .0, 1 .5, 2.0, 2.5...), then BS 134/cell 130 sends the benefit metric for cell 130 to cell 120. Similarly, if the relative benefit for cell 140 with respect to a muting of cell 120 (e.g., the ratio of the benefit metric for cell 140 to the penalty to cell 120 for the muting of cell 120) is greater than a threshold, then BS 144/cell 140 sends the benefit metric for cell 140 to cell 120.

[0051 ] The thresholds described herein may be cell specific, e.g., different thresholds for each cell, or may be resource specific, e.g., different thresholds applied for different resources. For example, a greater threshold may be applied for cell 120 than cell 140.

[0052] For example, a threshold value may be defined or set as a percentage (e.g., X%) of (or otherwise based upon) a total benefit that would be received by a plurality of cells if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a target cell, e.g., where X may be a number set in advance or configured by a cell or BS. Or, a threshold value may be set or determined as a percentage (e.g., Y%) (or otherwise based upon) the penalty metric, e.g., where Y may be a number set in advance or configured by a cell or BS.. [0053] According to an example implementation, a threshold may be set or decided based on communication between BSs. According to an illustrative example implementation, a BS associated with a source cell i (to receive a benefit of a cell muting/resource allocation) may send a request message to a target cell j. Upon receiving the request message, the target cell j (or BS associated with cell j) may determine a threshold based on a level of X2 interface (or BS-to-BS interface) congestion or based on a number of X2 messages received by the target cell j. For example, a higher number of received X2 (or BS-to-BS) messages received by a target cell may cause an increase in the threshold, which may typically have the effect of reducing the number of benefit metric messages sent between BSs, thereby decreasing X2 messages/BS-to-BS messages. Alternatively, the target cell (or a BS associated with the target cell) may determine a threshold based on (or as a percentage of) a penalty of the target cell for the muting of the cell for a resource. After the target cell j (or BS associated with target cell j) has determined a threshold and the penalty to cell j for applying the resource allocation to cell j (e.g., penalty to cell j due to muting cell j), the BS associated with cell j may send the threshold and/or penalty to cell j to the cell i (or to the BS associated with cell i). The BS associated with cell i may, for example, determine a relative benefit for cell i, and compare it to the threshold. Cell i may send the benefit metric for cell it to cell j if the relative benefit for cell i is greater than the threshold, for example.

[0054] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating operation of stations according to an example implementation. In FIG. 2, BS 134, which is associated with source cell 130 is in communication with BS 124, which is associated with target cell 120. The arrangement of stations shown in FIG. 2 is provided for a distributed resource control. The operation and messages shown in FIG. 2 is provided, by way of example, for a distributed resource control where a BS 124 associated with a target cell 120 may receive benefit metrics, determine a total benefit, and make a decision whether or not to apply a resource allocation to (or mute) a target cell 120, for example.

[0055] However, these techniques (or similar techniques) shown in FIG. 2 may also be performed for a centralized resource control. In such a centralized resource allocation, for example, one or more of the operations performed by BS 124 may be performed by a control station or central controller where the control station may receive penalty metrics, benefit metrics, and may determine a threshold, add all benefits for a resource, and make a decision whether to apply the resource allocation to a target BS (e.g., make a decision whether to mute a target cell) based on the total benefit and the penalty metric, for example.

[0056] FIG. 2 will now be briefly described. One or more of the operations or messages in FIG. 2 may be omitted, and the operations and/or sending of messages in FIG. 2 may occur in an order that is different than shown in FIG. 2.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 2, BS 134 may send a message to BS 124, such as a threshold request message 210 to request a threshold from BS 124. The threshold request message 210 may include one or more fields, such as a source cell ID (e.g., identifying cell 130 associated with BS 134), a target cell ID (e.g., identifying cell 120), information identifying the resource, such as PRBs. Although not required, the message 210 may also include information identifying the resource allocation to be applied to target cell 120 for the resource(s), e.g., transmission power reduction for cell 120 or muting of cell 120.

[0058] At 212, BS 124 may determine a penalty that would be incurred by target cell 120 if the resource allocation is applied to the target cell 120 for the identified resource. At 212, BS 124 may also determine a threshold for the PRBs/resource, e.g., based on the level of X2 congestion, or the amount of X2 messages received by BS 124, based on a penalty to target cell 120, or other criteria.

[0059] BS 124 may send a benefit metric request 214 to BS 134, which may include one or more fields, such as the threshold, the penalty to target cell 120, the source cell ID, the target cell ID, and information identifying the resource/PRBs, for example.

[0060] At 216, the BS 134, associated with the source cell 130, may determine a benefit metric for cell 130, e.g., for muting cell 120. In a second implementation (where a relative benefit to cell 130 may be used), the BS 134 may also determine a relative benefit for cell 130 when the resource allocation is applied to cell 120 (or when cell 120 is muted), e.g., based on the penalty to cell 120 and the benefit metric for cell 130. The relative benefit to cell 130 may be determined, for example, as a ratio of the benefit to cell 130 to the penalty to target cell 120.

[0061 ] At 218 and 220, in a first illustrative example implementation, the BS 134 may compare the benefit metric for cell 130, and may determine whether the benefit metric for cell 130 is greater than the threshold. In the first example implementation, if the benefit metric for cell 130 is greater than the threshold, then benefit metric message 222 is sent to BS 124. In a second illustrative example implementation at 218 and 220, BS 134 may compare the relative benefit for cell 130 to the threshold to determine whether the relative benefit to cell 130 is greater than the threshold. In the second example implementation, if the relative benefit to cell 130 is greater than the threshold, then benefit metric message 222 is sent to BS 124 (or to the control station for a centralized resource control). [0062] The benefit metric message 222 may include one or more fields, such as, for example, the benefit metric quantifying the benefit to cell 130 for the muting of (or other resource allocation applied to) target cell 120, information identifying the resource/PRBs, a source cell ID, a target cell ID, and possibly information identifying the resource allocation to be applied to the resource, e.g., a field indicating to mute the cell 120. Other fields may be included, and some fields may be omitted.

[0063] At 224, the BS 124 (or a central control station) may add or sum the benefit metrics from multiple cells with respect to muting of cell 120 for the resource, for example, to obtain a total benefit. The BS 124 may then determine whether to apply the resource allocation to target cell 120 (e.g., decide whether to mute target cell 120) based on, for example, the total benefit received by a plurality of cells as compared to the penalty incurred by the target cell. For example, BS 124 (or control station) may apply the resource allocation or mute cell 120 if the total benefit to other cells is greater than the penalty incurred by target cell 120 due to such resource allocation or muting.

[0064] Next, if BS 124 (or control station) decides to apply the resource allocation to cell 120, e.g., to mute cell 120, then BS 124 or the control station, may send a decision message, e.g., a muting decision message, to each of the cells/BSs that sent a benefit metric or penalty metric for this resource allocation and resource. At 228, BS 124 applies the resource allocation to target cell 120 for the resource/PRBs. Thus, for example, at 228, the BS 124 mutes cell 120, e.g., does not transmit signals, and does not allow user devices within cell 120 to transmit, during the resource/PRBs, for example. This muting by cell 120 may provide a reduced inter-cell interference to other (neighbor) cells, allowing, for example, one or more of the neighbor cells to increase MCS used for the

PRBs/resources that have been muted by target cell 120.

[0065] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a station according to an example implementation. Operation 310 includes determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a

hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource. Operation 320 includes comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value. And, operation 330 includes controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0066] One or more additional features may be provided with respect to the method illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 3.

[0067] In an example implementation, the second station may include at least one of: a second base station associated with the second cell; and a control station configured to control allocation of resources for a plurality of cells.

[0068] The example method illustrated in FIG. 3 may further include controlling receiving, by the first base station, the threshold value from the second station via a base station-to-base station interface. The base station-to-base station interface may include a X2 interface.

[0069] In an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the threshold may be provided by the second station as a percentage of a penalty to the second cell if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource.

[0070] In an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the station may include a second base station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the second base station. Also, the station may include a control station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the control station.

[0071 ] In an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the method may further include controlling receiving, by the first base station from the second station via an X2 interface, the threshold value, the threshold value being configured or set by the second station based on a traffic congestion level of the X2 interface as detected by the second station (e.g., as a number of X2 messages received or detected by the second station within a time period).

[0072] The method of FIG. 3 may further include controlling sending by the second station, a decision message to one or more base stations that sent a benefit metric to the second station, the decision message indicating a decision to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the second cell for the resource.

[0073] In the method of FIG. 3, the hypothetical resource allocation may include at least one of: a beam selection for the second cell for the resource, a decrease in transmission power of the second cell for the resource, and muting of the second cell for the resource. Also, the resource may include at least one of: a physical resource block (PRB), and a resource block group (RBG).

[0074] In the method of FIG. 3, the determining may include controlling receiving, by the first base station, channel information from a plurality of user devices within the first cell, the channel information including for one or more user devices at least a first channel information for a reference resource allocation applied to the second cell and a second channel information for the hypothetical resource allocation applied to the second cell, and determining a benefit that the first cell would receive for each of the plurality of user devices based on the channel information. For example, the channel information may include one or more of the following: a channel state information (CSI), a channel quality indicator that indicates a highest modulation and coding scheme (MCS) at which an error rate does not exceed an error threshold, a received signal strength, and a reference signal received power (RSRP).

[0075] In the method of FIG. 3, the determining may include controlling receiving channel information from one or more user devices of the first cell, including receiving a first channel information when a reference resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource and a second channel information when the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, and determining, by the first base station based on the received channel information, the benefit metric based upon an increase in cell throughput for the first cell when the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell as compared to the reference resource allocation being applied to the second cell for the resource.

[0076] In the method of FIG. 3, the reference resource allocation may include a reference coordinated multipoint (CoMP) hypothesis, and the hypothetical resource allocation comprises a hypothetical CoMP hypothesis.

[0077] The method of FIG. 3 may further include controlling receiving, by the first base station from the second station, a resource allocation decision indicating that the hypothetical resource allocation will be applied to the second cell for the resource. The method may further include adjusting a modulation and coding scheme used by the first cell for the resource based on the application of the hypothetical resource application to the second cell for the resource.

[0078] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, compare the benefit metric to a threshold value, control sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0079] According to another example implementation, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code that, when executed by at least one data processing apparatus, is configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to perform a method including: determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource; comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

[0080] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes means for determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, means for comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value, means for controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value

[0081 ] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a station according to another example implementation. Operation 410 includes determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource. Operation 420 includes controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource. Operation 430 includes determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric. Operation 440 includes determining a threshold value. Operation 450 includes comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value. And, operation 460 includes controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0082] One or more additional features may be provided with respect to the method illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 4.

[0083] In the method of FIG. 4, the second station may include at least one of: a second base station associated with the second cell, and a control station configured to control allocation of resources among a plurality of cells.

[0084] In the method of FIG. 4, the determining a threshold value may include controlling receiving, by the first base station, the threshold value from the second station via a base station-to-base station interface. The base station-to-base station interface may, include a X2 interface.

[0085] In the method of FIG. 4, the threshold is provided by the second station as a percentage of a penalty to the second cell if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource.

[0086] In the method of FIG. 4, the station may include a second base station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the second base station.

[0087] In the method of FIG. 4, the station may include a control station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the control station. [0088] In the method of FIG. 4, the determining a threshold may include controlling receiving, by the first base station from the second station via an X2 interface, the threshold value, the threshold value being configured or set by the second station based on a traffic congestion level of the X2 interface as detected by the second station.

[0089] The method of FIG. 4 further includes controlling sending by the second station, a decision message to one or more base stations that sent a benefit metric to the second station, the decision message indicating a decision to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the second cell for the resource.

[0090] In the method of FIG. 4, the threshold value includes at least one of the following: a threshold value that is a percentage of, or based upon, a total benefit that would be received by a plurality of cells if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, and a threshold value that is a percentage of, or based upon, the penalty metric.

[0091 ] In the method of FIG. 4, the determining the threshold value may include receiving, by the first base station from the second station, the threshold value.

[0092] In the method of FIG. 4, the determining the threshold value may include: sending, from the first base station to the second station, a threshold value request to obtain the threshold value to be used to determine by the first base station whether the benefit metric should be sent to the second station; wherein the second station is configured to determine the threshold value based on at least one of the penalty metric or a number of messages received from base stations.

[0093] In the method of FIG. 4, the hypothetical resource allocation may include at least one of: a beam selection for the second cell for the resource, a decrease in transmission power of the second cell for the resource, and muting of the second cell for the resource.

[0094] In the method of FIG. 4, the resource may include at least one of: a physical resource block (PRB), and a resource block group (RBG).

[0095] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., BS or user device) 500 according to an example implementation. The wireless station 500 may include, for example, two RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 502A, 502B, where each wireless transceiver includes a transmitter to transmit signals and a receiver to receive signals. The wireless station also includes a processor or control unit/entity (controller) 504 to execute instructions or software and control transmission and receptions of signals, and a memory 506 to store data and/or instructions.

[0096] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, control receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, determine a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, determining a threshold value, compare the relative benefit to the threshold value, and control sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0097] According to another example implementation, a computer program product includes a computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code that, when executed by at least one data processing apparatus, is configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to perform a method including: determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, determining a threshold value, comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value, and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0098] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means for determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource, means for controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource, means for determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric, means for determining a threshold value, means for comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value, and means for controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

[0099] Processor 504 may also make decisions or determinations, generate frames, packets or messages for transmission, decode received frames or messages for further processing, and other tasks or functions described herein. Processor 504, which may be a baseband processor, for example, may generate messages, packets, frames or other signals for transmission via wireless transceiver 502 (502A or 502B). Processor 504 may control transmission of signals or messages over a wireless network, and may control the reception of signals or messages, etc., via a wireless network (e.g., after being down- converted by wireless transceiver 502, for example). Processor 504 may be

programmable and capable of executing software or other instructions stored in memory or on other computer media to perform the various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. Processor 504 may be (or may include), for example, hardware, programmable logic, a programmable processor that executes software or firmware, and/or any combination of these. Using other terminology, processor 504 and transceiver 502 together may be considered as a wireless

transmitter/receiver system, for example.

[00100] In addition, referring to FIG. 5, a controller (or processor) 508 may execute software and instructions, and may provide overall control for the station 500, and may provide control for other systems not shown in FIG. 5, such as controlling input/output devices (e.g., display, keypad), and/or may execute software for one or more applications that may be provided on wireless station 500, such as, for example, an email program, audio/video applications, a word processor, a Voice over IP application, or other application or software.

[00101 ] In addition, a storage medium may be provided that includes stored instructions, which when executed by a controller or processor may result in the processor 504, or other controller or processor, performing one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

[00102] According to another example implementation, RF or wireless

transceiver(s) 502A/502B may receive signals or data and/or transmit or send signals or data. Processor 504 (and possibly transceivers 502A/502B) may control the RF or wireless transceiver 502A or 502B to receive, send, broadcast or transmit signals or data.

[00103] Another example of an apparatus may include means (504, 502A, 502B) for sending and/or controlling sending data or messages, and means (504, 502A, 502B) for receiving and/or controlling receiving messages or data. Means (504) for comparing, determining and/or detecting are also shown in FIG. 5.

[00104] Implementations of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Implementations may implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of, a data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. Implementations may also be provided on a computer readable medium or computer readable storage medium, which may be a non-transitory medium. Implementations of the various techniques may also include implementations provided via transitory signals or media, and/or programs and/or software implementations that are downloadable via the Internet or other network(s), either wired networks and/or wireless networks. In addition, implementations may be provided via machine type communications (MTC), and also via an Internet of Things (IOT).

[00105] The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some sort of carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, photoelectrical and/or electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and software distribution package, for example. Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or it may be distributed amongst a number of computers.

[00106] Further more, implementations of the various techniques described herein may use a cyber-physical system (CPS) (a system of collaborating computational elements controlling physical entities). CPS may enable the implementation and exploitation of massive amounts of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers, ...) embedded in physical objects at different locations.

Mobile cyber physical systems, in which the physical system in question has inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robotics and electronics transported by humans or animals. The rise in popularity of smartphones has increased interest in the area of mobile cyber- physical systems. Therefore, various implementations of techniques described herein may be provided via one or more of these technologies.

[00107] A computer program, such as the computer program(s) described above, can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit or part of it suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[00108] Method steps may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program or computer program portions to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. Method steps also may be performed by, and an apparatus may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

[00109] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip or chipset. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. Elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer also may include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

[00110] To provide for interaction with a user, implementations may be

implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, for displaying information to the user and a user interface, such as a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

[00111 ] Implementations may be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation, or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. Components may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN), e.g., the Internet.

[00112] While certain features of the described implementations have been illustrated as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the various embodiments.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1 . A method comprising:

determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource;

comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value; and

controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second station comprises at least one of: a second base station associated with the second cell; and

a control station configured to control allocation of resources for a plurality of cells.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2 and further comprising controlling receiving, by the first base station, the threshold value from the second station via a base station-to- base station interface.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the base station-to-base station interface comprises a X2 interface.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the threshold is provided by the second station as a percentage of a penalty to the second cell if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the station comprises a second base station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the second base station.

7. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the station comprises a control station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the control station.

8. The method of claim 1 and further comprising controlling receiving, by the first base station from the second station via an X2 interface, the threshold value, the threshold value being configured or set by the second station based on a traffic congestion level of the X2 interface as detected by the second station.

9. The method of claim 1 and further comprising controlling sending by the second station, a decision message to one or more base stations that sent a benefit metric to the second station, the decision message indicating a decision to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the second cell for the resource.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the hypothetical resource allocation comprises at least one of:

a beam selection for the second cell for the resource;

a decrease in transmission power of the second cell for the resource; and muting of the second cell for the resource.

1 1 . The method of claim 1 wherein the resource comprises at least one of:

a physical resource block (PRB); and

a resource block group (RBG).

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining comprises:

controlling receiving, by the first base station, channel information from a plurality of user devices within the first cell, the channel information including for one or more user devices at least a first channel information for a reference resource allocation applied to the second cell and a second channel information for the hypothetical resource allocation applied to the second cell; and

determining a benefit that the first cell would receive for each of the plurality of user devices based on the channel information.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the channel information comprises one or more of the following:

a channel state information (CSI);

a channel quality indicator that indicates a highest modulation and coding scheme (MCS) at which an error rate does not exceed an error threshold;

a received signal strength; and

a reference signal received power (RSRP).

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining comprises:

controlling receiving channel information from one or more user devices of the first cell, including receiving a first channel information when a reference resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource and a second channel information when the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource; and determining, by the first base station based on the received channel information, the benefit metric based upon an increase in cell throughput for the first cell when the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell as compared to the reference resource allocation being applied to the second cell for the resource.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the reference resource allocation comprises a reference coordinated multipoint (CoMP) hypothesis, and the hypothetical resource allocation comprises a hypothetical CoMP hypothesis.

16. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:

controlling receiving, by the first base station from the second station, a resource allocation decision indicating that the hypothetical resource allocation will be applied to the second cell for the resource.

17. The method of claim 16 and further comprising adjusting a modulation and coding scheme used by the first cell for the resource based on the application of the hypothetical resource application to the second cell for the resource.

18. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

determine, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource;

compare the benefit metric to a threshold value; and

control sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

19. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code that, when executed by at least one data processing apparatus, is configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to perform a method comprising:

comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value; and

20. An apparatus comprising:

means for determining, by a first base station, a benefit metric quantifying an estimated benefit that a first cell would receive if a hypothetical resource allocation is applied to a second cell for a resource;

means for comparing the benefit metric to a threshold value; and

means for controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the benefit metric is greater than the threshold value.

21 . An apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 -17.

22. A computer program product for a computer, comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of claims 1 -17 when said product is run on the computer.

23. A method comprising:

controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource;

determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric;

determining a threshold value;

comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value; and

controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the second station comprises at least one of: a second base station associated with the second cell; and

a control station configured to control allocation of resources among a plurality of cells.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the determining a threshold value comprises controlling receiving, by the first base station, the threshold value from the second station via a base station-to-base station interface.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the base station-to-base station interface comprises a X2 interface.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein the threshold is provided by the second station as a percentage of a penalty to the second cell if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein the station comprises a second base station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the second base station.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein the station comprises a control station, and wherein the threshold is configured by the control station.

30. The method of claim 23 wherein determining a threshold comprises controlling receiving, by the first base station from the second station via an X2 interface, the threshold value, the threshold value being configured or set by the second station based on a traffic congestion level of the X2 interface as detected by the second station.

31 . The method of claim 23 and further comprising controlling sending by the second station, a decision message to one or more base stations that sent a benefit metric to the second station, the decision message indicating a decision to apply the hypothetical resource allocation to the second cell for the resource.

32. The method of claim 23 wherein the threshold value comprises at least one of the following:

a threshold value that is a percentage of, or based upon, a total benefit that would be received by a plurality of cells if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource; and

a threshold value that is a percentage of, or based upon, the penalty metric.

33. The method of claim 23 wherein the determining the threshold value comprises receiving, by the first base station from the second station, the threshold value.

34. The method of claim 23 wherein the determining the threshold value comprises:

sending, from the first base station to the second station, a threshold value request to obtain the threshold value to be used to determine by the first base station whether the benefit metric should be sent to the second station;

wherein the second station is configured to determine the threshold value based on at least one of the penalty metric or a number of messages received from base stations.

35. The method of claim 23 wherein the hypothetical resource allocation comprises at least one of:

a beam selection for the second cell for the resource;

a decrease in transmission power of the second cell for the resource; and

muting of the second cell for the resource.

36. The method of claim 23 wherein the resource comprises at least one of:

a physical resource block (PRB); and

a resource block group (RBG).

37. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

control receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource;

determine a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric;

determining a threshold value;

compare the relative benefit to the threshold value; and

control sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

38. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium and storing executable code that, when executed by at least one data processing apparatus, is configured to cause the at least one data processing apparatus to perform a method comprising:

determining a threshold value;

comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value; and controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

39. An apparatus comprising:

means for controlling receiving a penalty metric quantifying an estimated penalty that the second cell would receive if the hypothetical resource allocation is applied to the second cell for the resource;

means for determining a relative benefit based on the benefit metric and the penalty metric;

means for determining a threshold value;

means for comparing the relative benefit to the threshold value; and

means for controlling sending, by the first base station to a second station, the benefit metric only if the relative benefit is greater than the threshold value.

40. An apparatus comprising means for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 23-36.

41 . A computer program product for a computer, comprising software code portions for performing the steps of any of claims 23-36 when said product is run on the computer.