WO2017176293A1 - Dynamic deactivation of cells while accomodating idle user devices in a wireless network - Google Patents

Dynamic deactivation of cells while accomodating idle user devices in a wireless network Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017176293A1
WO2017176293A1 PCT/US2016/026748 US2016026748W WO2017176293A1 WO 2017176293 A1 WO2017176293 A1 WO 2017176293A1 US 2016026748 W US2016026748 W US 2016026748W WO 2017176293 A1 WO2017176293 A1 WO 2017176293A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
cell
base station
user device
deactivation
connection request
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Application number
PCT/US2016/026748
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French (fr)
Inventor
Eric Drury
Amit Malik
Original Assignee
Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
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Publication date
Application filed by Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy filed Critical Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
Priority to PCT/US2016/026748 priority Critical patent/WO2017176293A1/en
Publication of WO2017176293A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017176293A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W52/00—Power management, e.g. TPC [Transmission Power Control], power saving or power classes
    • H04W52/02—Power saving arrangements
    • H04W52/0203—Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks
    • H04W52/0206—Power saving arrangements in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks in access points, e.g. base stations
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02D—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
    • Y02D30/00—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks
    • Y02D30/70—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks in wireless communication networks

Definitions

  • a method may include receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
  • a computer program product may include 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: transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
  • a method includes determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
  • FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a base station according to another example implementation.
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., base station or mobile station) according to an example implementation.
  • BS 134 provides wireless coverage (wireless services) within a cell 136, including to user devices 131, 132, 133 and 135. Although only four user devices are shown as being connected or attached to BS 134, any number of user devices may be provided.
  • BS 134 is also connected to a core network 150 via a S I interface 151.
  • a user device may 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.
  • SIM subscriber identification module
  • 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.
  • the user device may determine, e.g., if there are any pages or any data for the user device. If there is a page or data for the user device, the user device may perform random access to obtain a timing offset, and then establish a connection (e.g., via a connection request to the cell/BS) to the cell to receive any data for the user device.
  • a connection e.g., via a connection request to the cell/BS
  • some example reasons for a user device (in idle state) to camp on a cell include, for example: to enable the user device to receive system information and to receive paging messages and respond to a page by establishing a connection to the cell to receive data.
  • example implementations may update the overhead messages (transmitted system information) of the cell to indicate that there are one or more neighbouring cells in energy saving mode/deactivated state and the frequencies/RATs of those cells.
  • the overhead messages (system information) indicates there is a neighbouring cell in energy savings mode/deactivated state in which an idle user device supports (the frequency /RAT) and the idle user device is at the edge of its current cell and can find no other neighbouring cells to reselect
  • the user device may initiate a connection (e.g., send a connection request, with establishment cause of pending loss of coverage) to the cell in order to make itself known to the cell, as well as to make their frequency and RAT capabilities known to the cell.
  • InterFreqCarrierFreqList where each entry corresponds to a frequency included in the InterFreqCarrierFreqList.
  • a deactivatedneighborcell IE may be provided to indicate that a neighbour cell has been deactivated. If provided in SIB5, this indicates that a neighbour cell having a different frequency than the serving cell has been deactivated, and the other fields/IEs here in SIB5 may identify the frequency of such deactivated neighbour cell.
  • 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.
  • LAN local area network
  • WAN wide area network

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

An example implementation may include determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device. Another example implementation may include transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.

Description

DYNAMIC DEACTIVATION OF CELLS WHILE ACCOMODATING IDLE USER DEVICES IN A WIRELESS NETWORK
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This description relates to communications.
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 3rd 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.
[0004] A global bandwidth shortage facing wireless carriers has motivated the consideration of the underutilized millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency spectrum for future broadband cellular communication networks. mmWave (or extremely high frequency) may, for example, include the frequency range between 30 and 300 gigahertz (GHz). Radio waves in this band may, for example, have wavelengths from ten to one millimeters, giving it the name millimeter band or millimeter wave. The amount of wireless data will likely significantly increase in the coming years. Various techniques have been used in attempt to address this challenge including obtaining more spectrum, having smaller cell sizes, and using improved technologies enabling more bits/s/Hz. One element that may be used to obtain more spectrum is to move to higher frequencies, above 6 GHz. For fifth generation wireless systems (5G), an access architecture for deployment of cellular radio equipment employing mmWave radio spectrum has been proposed.
[0005] Energy savings is a topic which is receiving a great deal of attention in the telecommunications industry.
SUMMARY
[0006] According to an example implementation, a method may include determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
[0007] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmit, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receive, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and cancel the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
[0008] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
[0009] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means for determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; means for transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; means for receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and means for cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device. [0010] According to an example implementation, a method may include receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
[0011 ] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; perform, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; determine, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and send, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
[0012] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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: receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell;
performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
[0013] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means for receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; means for performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; means for determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and means for sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from
deactivating.
[0014] According to an example implementation, a method may include transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0015] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and receive, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0016] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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: transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0017] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means for transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and means for receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0018] According to another example implementation, a method includes determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[0019] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmit, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receive, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; perform, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and perform, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[0020] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[0021] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes means for determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; means for transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; means for receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; means for performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and means for performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[0022] 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
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network according to an example implementation.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a base station according to an example implementation.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a user device according to an example implementation.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a base station according to another example implementation.
[0027] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a base station according to another example implementation. [0028] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., base station or mobile station) according to an example implementation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network 130 according to an example implementation. In the wireless network 130 of FIG. 1, user devices 131, 132, 133 and 135, which may also be referred to as user equipments (UEs), may be connected (and in
communication) with a base station (BS) 134, which may also be referred to as an enhanced Node B (eNB). At least part of the functionalities of a base station or (e)Node B (eNB) 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. BS 134 provides wireless coverage (wireless services) within a cell 136, including to user devices 131, 132, 133 and 135. Although only four user devices are shown as being connected or attached to BS 134, any number of user devices may be provided. BS 134 is also connected to a core network 150 via a S I interface 151.
[0030] Also, other BSs and/or cells may also provide wireless services to one or more user devices. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, BS 138 may provide wireless coverage (wireless services) within a cell 141 to one or more user devices. Thus, in this illustrative example, cell 136 is provided by BS 134 and cell 141 is provided by BS 138. Although only two cells and two BSs are shown in FIG. 1, any number may be provided. BS 138 is also connected to core network 150. BS 138 and BS 134 are also connected (and may communicate) via a BS-to-BS (e.g., X2) interface 139. This is merely one simple example of a wireless network, and others may be used.
[0031 ] A user device (user terminal, user equipment (UE)) may 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.
[0032] In LTE (as an example), 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.
[0033] The various example implementations may be applied to a wide variety of wireless technologies or wireless networks, such as LTE, LTE-A, 5G, and/or mmWave band networks, or any other wireless network. LTE, 5G and mmWave band networks are provided only as illustrative examples, and the various example implementations may be applied to any wireless technology/wireless network.
[0034] According to an example implementation, one or more BSs/cells may be deactivated in order to save power/energy. Deactivation of a BS or cell may include, for example, placing the BS/cell in a power savings mode in which power is not applied to one or more components or systems (or to all or a portion) of the BS/cell. According to an example implementation, when a BS/cell is deactivated (switched from activated mode or state to a deactivated mode or state), the deactivated BS/cell does not transmit or receive signals or data and is unable to serve or provide wireless services to user devices, for example. For example, where there may be multiple BSs/cells, one or more BSs/cells may be deactivated during low-use hours, e.g., late at night when few user devices are active. According to an example
implementation, prior to deactivating a cell, the cell (to be deactivated) may perform a handover of any connected user devices to another cell.
[0035] While a cell/BS may determine if there are any user devices connected to the cell/BS, the cell/BS may not be able to determine if there are any user devices in idle state that are camped on the cell/BS. A user device in an idle (non-connected) state may perform cell selection/reselection to select a cell that fulfills the cell selection/reselection criteria (e.g., having a received signal strength indication/RSSI that meets a threshold value). If a cell fulfills the cell selection criteria, the user device may select the cell to camp on (while in idle state). While in idle state, the user device may periodically wake from a sleep (or power saving ) mode to receive system information from the selected cell. Based on the system information, the user device may determine, e.g., if there are any pages or any data for the user device. If there is a page or data for the user device, the user device may perform random access to obtain a timing offset, and then establish a connection (e.g., via a connection request to the cell/BS) to the cell to receive any data for the user device. For example, some example reasons for a user device (in idle state) to camp on a cell include, for example: to enable the user device to receive system information and to receive paging messages and respond to a page by establishing a connection to the cell to receive data.
[0036] As noted, the cell/BS may not be aware of one or more user devices in idle state that are camping on the cell (e.g., within range of the cell/BS, and periodically waking up to receive the system information transmitted by the cell/BS). If the cell/BS, where there are one or more idle user devices camped on the cell, is deactivated, this may cause a loss of service for such idle user devices. This loss of service may be very temporary, e.g., while the user device performs cell selection/reselection to select another nearby cell. However, in some cases, if there are no nearby cells within range that are compatible with frequencies and technologies (e.g., radio access technologies) used by the user device, this may create a longer term loss of service.
[0037] Therefore, according to an example implementation, various example techniques are provided to accommodate idle user devices, and to decrease the likelihood that a cell/BS will be deactivated if an idle user device that is camping on such cell is unable to find/reselect another cell/BS that meets the cell selection criteria (example case 1). In an example
implementation, to address case 1, a BS may transmit (e.g., via system information) a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of a cell. Idle user devices that are camped on this cell may receive the deactivation warning, and may then attempt to find another suitable cell on which to camp, e.g., via a cell reselection procedure. If another cell cannot be found that fulfills a cell reselection criteria for the idle user device, the user device may send to the BS a request to cancel the pending deactivation of the cell. According to an example implementation, the idle user device may send to the BS a request to cancel the pending deactivation of the cell by sending a connection request to the cell, e.g., with an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage. In response to receiving the connection request, the BS/cell may cancel (or delay) the pending deactivation of the cell, e.g., so that the idle user device may continue to receive wireless services from the cell, or at least periodically wakeup and receive system information from the cell.
[0038] Similarly, various example implementations are provided that may allow a cell/BS, that has been already deactivated, to be reactivated if an idle user device in a nearby cell/BS is leaving a currently serving cell and is unable to find/select a suitable cell (example case 2). For example, an idle user device may be camped on a first cell that is provided by a first BS. According to an example implementation, to address case 2, the first BS may receive an indication from a second BS that a neighbor cell (e.g., provided by the second BS) has been deactivated. The first BS may update its transmitted system information to include an indication (e.g., deactivated neighbor cell indication) that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated. The deactivated neighbor cell indication may indicate that the one or more deactivated cells provide services via the same frequency as the serving cell/first BS (the cell transmitting the deactivated neighbor cell indication), or may indicate that the deactivated cell provides services via a frequency or technologies different from the serving cell/first BS. The idle user device, e.g., camping on the first cell, may be moving out of range of the first cell, and via cell reselection, may be unable to find a suitable alternative cell via cell. To avoid loss of service, and to cause the one or more deactivated neighbor cells to be reactivated, the user device may send a connection request to the first cell/first BS (to establish a connection to the first cell), with establishment cause of pending loss of coverage. The cells identified to be reactivated may be specific to the capabilities (e.g., frequencies and/or technologies) of the idle user device and/or may be located near (or nearest to) the location of the user device. In response to the connection request (e.g., indicating an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage), the first BS may send a cell activation request to the second BS. In response to the cell activation request, the second BS may reactivate the one or more deactivated neighbor cells. The user device may perform cell reselection and then may select the reactivated cell to camp on (e.g., to periodically wakeup and receive system information from the selected cell).
[0039] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a base station according to an example implementation. Operation 210 includes determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell. Operation 220 includes transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell. Operation 230 includes receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell. And, operation 240 includes cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
[0040] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the cell includes a first cell, wherein the determining that there are no user devices connected to the first cell may include: determining one or more user devices that are connected to the first cell;
performing a handover of the one or more user devices to a second cell; and determining, after performing the handover, that there are no user devices connected to the first cell.
[0041 ] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, and further include initializing, by the base station, a deactivation timer based on transmitting the deactivation warning, wherein the base station will deactivate the cell if the deactivation timer expires without receiving a connection request for the cell.
[0042] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the transmitting a deactivation warning may include at least one of the following: transmitting, by the base station for the cell, a deactivation warning information element within a system information block; and transmitting, by the base station for the cell, an energy savings mode pending information element within a system information block. [0043] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the method may further include discontinuing transmitting, by the base station for the cell, the transmitting the deactivation warning in response to the connection request.
[0044] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the connection request includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0045] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the connection request includes an establishment cause of detected pending deactivation of the serving cell.
[0046] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the method further include performing, by the base station, a connection release procedure with the user device to release a connection established between the base station and the user device, e.g., without setting up a connection to the core network.
[0047] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the cancelling may include: determining that the connection request includes a specific establishment cause; and cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell that includes the specific establishment cause.
[0048] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 2, the receiving a connection request may include receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage; and, wherein the cancelling may include cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0049] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a user device according to an example implementation. Operation 310 include receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell.
Operation 320 includes performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device. Operation 330 includes determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria. Operation 340 includes sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
[0050] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the deactivation warning may include at least one of the following: a deactivation warning information element within a system information block; and an energy savings mode pending information element within a system information block.
[0051] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the connection request includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0052] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the connection request includes an establishment cause of detected pending deactivation of the serving cell.
[0053] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the method may further include returning, by the user device after sending the connection request, to idle mode.
[0054] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 3, the method further including: detecting, by the user device after sending the connection request, that the base station has discontinued transmitting the deactivation warning for the cell.
[0055] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a base station according to another example implementation. Operation 410 includes transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated. And, operation 420 includes receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[0056] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 4, the method may further include receiving, by the first base station from a second base station, an indication that a cell of the second base station has been deactivated; and transmitting, by the first base station to the second base station in response to the connection request, a cell activation request to request the second base station to activate the cell.
[0057] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 4, the system information may include at least one of the following: a first deactivated neighbor cell information element indicating that one or more neighbor cells, having a frequency that is the same as the first base station, have been deactivated; and a second deactivated neighbor cell information element indicating that one or more neighbor cells, having a frequency that is different than the first base station, have been deactivated.
[0058] According to an example implementation, a BS (eNB) may perform a number of operations including, for example: 1) The BS receives a deactivation indication from neighbor(s) cells; 2) BS transmits system information indicating that a neighbor cell(s) has been deactivated; 3) BS receives a Connection Request from user device/UE with a special establishment cause (e.g., establishment cause of "potential loss of coverage"); 4) BS determines which neighbor cell to activate (based on UE capabilities and/or location of user device/UE and cells); 5) BS sends a cell activation request to neighbor BS/cell requesting that the cell be activated. [0059] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 4, the method may further include establishing, by the first base station, a connection to the user device;
determining one or more frequencies supported by the user device; and transmitting, by the first base station to another base station that provides one or more selected cells that use the frequency supported by the user device, a cell activation request to request the one or more selected cells be activated.
[0060] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 4, the method may further include establishing, by the first base station, a connection to the user device;
estimating a location of the user device; and transmitting, by the first base station to another base station that provides one or more selected cells near the user device, a cell activation request to request that the selected one or more cells be activated.
[0061 ] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a base station according to another example implementation. Operation 510 includes determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell. Operation 520 includes transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; Operation 530 includes receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause (e.g., establishment cause of pending loss of coverage, or establishment cause of detected pending deactivation of the serving cell). Operation 540 includes performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell. And, operation 550 includes performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[0062] According to an example implementation of the method of FIG. 5, the receiving a connection request may include: receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage
[0063] According to an example implementation, various example implementations may address at least two cases: Case 1. A cell is a candidate to be deactivated for energy savings, but it is unknown if there are user devices idling under (camping on) the cell which can only obtain service from that cell. Case 2: A cell is currently deactivated for energy savings, but there are idle user devices which can only obtain service from the cell which are entering the coverage area of the cell.
[0064] For case 1, example implementation may include updating the overhead messages (e.g., transmitted system information) of the cell to indicate that the cell is preparing to deactivate for energy savings mode. In addition, upon reception of such an indication, the user devices under the cell would look for cells that support an alternate frequency or alternate RAT (radio access technology) to which they can connect. Example RATs may include LTE, 5G, Wi- Fi (802.11), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, also known as 3G), etc. If none can be found, the user device may initiate a connection (e.g., by sending a connection request, with establishment cause of pending loss of coverage) to the cell in order to make themselves known to the cell, as well as to make their frequency and RAT capabilities known to the cell. The cell may then execute the same actions as it does for other active users when preparing to go into energy savings mode (deactivated state). Alternatively, in order to minimize the active connections with the cell, a new message may be provided whose purpose is to notify the cell of the presence of the mobile device and its frequency /RAT capabilities, but which would not establish a connection from the mobile device to the core network .
[0065] For case 2, example implementations may update the overhead messages (transmitted system information) of the cell to indicate that there are one or more neighbouring cells in energy saving mode/deactivated state and the frequencies/RATs of those cells. In addition, if the overhead messages (system information) indicates there is a neighbouring cell in energy savings mode/deactivated state in which an idle user device supports (the frequency /RAT) and the idle user device is at the edge of its current cell and can find no other neighbouring cells to reselect, the user device may initiate a connection (e.g., send a connection request, with establishment cause of pending loss of coverage) to the cell in order to make itself known to the cell, as well as to make their frequency and RAT capabilities known to the cell. Alternatively, in order to minimize the active connections with the cell, a new message could be introduced whose purpose is to notify the cell of the presence of the user device and its frequency /RAT capabilities, but which would not (necessarily) establish a connection from the mobile device to the core network. The cell/BS would then send a notification (e.g., cell activation request) to the neighbouring cells/BSs which support the frequency (of the user device) to exit energy savings mode/deactivated state (e.g., so that such neighbour cells are reactivated and are now available to provide services to the user device). As an optimization, the cell may limit the neighbour cells to be re-activated based on the position and/or direction of the mobile device (e.g., only to those cells that are near or nearest to the user device).
[0066] According to an illustrative example implementation, an example of where the example techniques may be, by way of example, may be most beneficial may be any area with a high density of cells/BSs that may provide overlapping coverage for a relatively large number of user devices. For example, the example techniques/implementations may advantageously be implemented be in a large commercial building where coverage within the building is provided by a number of small cells. During non-standard working hours (e.g., late at night) the majority of the cells would be candidates for energy saving mode/deactivation. However it is likely that there may be a small number of workers who would either work late or return to the building after normal working hours. The example implementations may ensure that service for those workers staying late would not be lost when most of the cells providing in-building coverage would be put into energy savings mode/deactivation. It may also ensure that any workers entering the building after hours would receive service as they moved throughout the building and cells are reactivated, and/or activated cells are not deactivated based on idle user devices.
[0067] The following, by way of illustrative example, is an example implementation for LTE. Note that this example only considers LTE and does not address other RATs (e.g., 3G, 5G) for which the user device may support. Note also this example describes the method where the user device may establish a connection with the LTE cell in order to notify the LTE cell of the user device's presence and frequency /RAT capabilities (as opposed to introducing new messages which would allow the user device to immediately transition back to the idle state after notifying the LTE cell of the user device's presence and capabilities).
[0068] The LTE Uu (UE<->eNB) interface may be updated as follows:
The RRC (radio resource control: SystemlnformationBlockl (SIB1) message may be updated to include the following IE (information element or field):
energySavingModePending ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL -- Need OP where energySavingModePending indicates that the cell is preparing enter energy saving mode (i.e., will be shut down for energy savings). Alternatively, a deactivationwarning IE may be provided instead.
[0069] The RRCSIB4 message may be updated to include the following new IE:
energy SavingActiveOnNeighbor ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL -- Need OP
- Alternatively, a deactivatedneighborcell IE may be provided to indicate that a neighbour cell(s) has been deactivated. If provided in SIB4, this indicates that a neighbour cell having a same frequency as the serving cell has been deactivated.
[0070] The RRC:SIB5 message also be updated to include the following new IEs:
InterFreqCarrierFreqListExt-rl3 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxFreq)) OF InterFreqCarrierFreqlnfo-r 13
InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo-rl3 ::-= SEQUENCE { energySavingActiveOnNeighbor ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL - Need OP
}
where:
o InterFreqCarrierFreqListExt-rl3 defines a parallel list to
InterFreqCarrierFreqList, where each entry corresponds to a frequency included in the InterFreqCarrierFreqList.
o The presence of energySavingActiveOnNeighbor indicates that there is one or more inter-frequency neighbour cells in the frequency corresponding to the position of InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo-rl3 within InterFreqCarrierFreqListExt-rl3 which are in energy savings mode.
o Alternatively, a deactivatedneighborcell IE may be provided to indicate that a neighbour cell has been deactivated. If provided in SIB5, this indicates that a neighbour cell having a different frequency than the serving cell has been deactivated, and the other fields/IEs here in SIB5 may identify the frequency of such deactivated neighbour cell.
[0071 ] One of the spare (or reserved) values in the EstablishmentCause IE of the RRCRRCConnectionRequest message may be allocated to identify the establishment cause as for the purpose of avoiding a potential loss of coverage (below, a new establishment cause of "potential loss of coverage" or "detected pending deactivation of the serving cell" may be provided, e.g., to communicate to a cell/BS that either: for case 1) a pending deactivation of a cell (e.g., indicated via a cell's transmission of system information including a deactivation warning IE) should be cancelled/delayed to avoid loss of coverage for the (idle) user device, and/or for case 2) a deactivated cell (e.g., indicated via a cell's transmission of system information including a deactivated neighbour cell IE/indication) should be reactivated to allow the user device to potentially reselect such reactivated cell, and thereby avoid a potential loss of coverage for the user device.
EstablishmentCause : := ENUMERATED {
emergency, highPriority Access, mt-Access, mo-Signalling, mo-Data, delayTolerantAccess-vl020, spare2-pendingLossOfCoverage-rl3, sparel }
[0072] According to an example implementation, a LTE X2 (BS<->BS) interface may also support the following messages/IEs:
[0073] A) The per cell Deactivation Indication IE in the Served Cells To Modify IE of the X2AP:eNB CONFIGURATION UPDATE message. The presence of this IE indicates that the associated cell is switched off (deactivated) for energy savings. This allows a BS to communicate the energy savings status/(activated or deactivated) of its cells to its neighbour BSs. (This allows a BS to indicate to other BSs that one or more cells have been
deactivated/placed into energy savings mode).
[0074] B) The X2AP : CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST message allows a BS to request a neighbour eNB to activate one or more of the neighbour BS's cells which are currently deactivated/in energy savings mode.
[0075] C) The X2AP:CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE message allows a BS to specify which of the cells included in the corresponding X2AP: CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST message have been successfully activated (i.e., transitioned out of energy savings mode).
[0076] Example implementations of the two example cases (case 1, and case 2) will be briefly described.
[0077] Case 1; A cell is a candidate to be deactivated for energy savings, but it is unknown if there are user devices idling under the cell which can only obtain service from that cell.
[0078] 1) BSl determines (e.g., based on time of day) that Celll should be shut down/deactivated for energy saving as there are no user devices currently in the connected state on Celll (no user devices currently connected to cell 1).
[0079] 2) BSl updates SIB1 in the transmitted system information to include the energySavingModePending IE (or the deactivationwaming IE), and sets (initializes) a deactivation timer to delay the shutting down/deactivation of Celll.
[0080] 3) User device 1 under Celll reads SIB1 and performs a cell reselection procedure, giving the lowest priority to the current cell, to determine if there are any other cells available which can serve user device 1.
[0081] 4) User device 1 determines that no neighbouring cells meet the reselection criteria, so user device 1 initiates a RRC connection establishment procedure (by sending a connection request to BSl/celll), setting the EstablishmentCause in the
RRCRRCConnectionRequest to "pendingLossofCoverage-R13".
[0082] 5) BSl establishes a connection with user device 1 on Celll. Based on the EstablishmentCause (indicating a pending loss of coverage for the user device), BSl can execute special handling for user device 1 (e.g., BSl can extend or reset the inactivity timer (or reset the deactivation timer) so as to cancel or delay the pending deactivation of cell 1; Also, , BSl may exclude user device from RF and/or backhaul bandwidth calculations (e.g., to determine load on celll or other calculations) since user devicel is only accessing the Celll to make its presence on Celll known (e.g., because this connection request from the user device 1 to cell 1 with establishment cause = pending loss of coverage is to merely request a cancellation of the pending deactivation of celll and not for the purpose of transmitting/receiving data over celll).
[0083] 6) BS 1 removes the energy SavingModePending IE/deactivationwarning IE, from the SIB1 transmission and starts/initializes an inactivity timer to defer/delay shutting
down/deactivating Celll for energy savings. User device 1 may notice that SIB1 transmitted from BS l/celll no longer includes the energySavingModePending IE/deactivati on warning IE, which may provide confirmation that the user device 1 may continue camping / idling on celll (since this indicates that the celll will not be deactivated).
[0084] 7) BS 1 performs an RRC connection release procedure with user device now that the energySavingModePending IE energySavingModePending IE/deactivationwarning IE is no longer being broadcast in SIB1 on Celll. In other words, the purpose of the connection (e.g., to communicate a request to cancel/delay the pending deactivation of celll) is completed, and there is no need for this connection, so this connection may be released.
[0085] 8) After the inactivity timer described in Step 6 expires, this procedure may be repeated starting at Step 1. (For example, the inactivity timer may be initialized when there are not user devices connected to a cell, and if the inactivity timer expires without any user devices being connected to the cell, then operation may proceed to step 1, since this indicates that the cell may be deactivated due to inactivity, for example).
[0086] Case 2; A cell is in currently deactivated for energy savings, but there are idle user devices which can only obtain service from the cell which are entering the coverage area of the cell.
[0087] 1) BS 1 shuts down/deactivates Celll for energy savings and sends an X2AP:ENB CONFIGURATION UPDATE message to BS2 to notify BS2 that Celll on BS1 is shut down/deactivated for energy savings.
[0088] 2) BS2 updates SIB4 of its cells which have the same frequency as Celll on BS1 to include the energySavingActiveOnNeighbor IE (or deactivatedneighborcell IE). BS2 updates SIB5 of its cells which have a different frequency than Celll on eNBl to include the
energySavingActiveOnNeighbor IE/deactivatedneighborcell IE for Celll 's frequency.
[0089] 3) user device 1 is at the edge of Cell2 of BS2 and performs a cell reselection procedure. User device 1 determines that no neighbouring cells meet the cell reselection criteria. Base on SIB4 or SIB5 of Cell2, however, user device 1 determines that there are neighbouring cells in a frequency which user device 1 supports which are deactivated/in energy savings mode. [0090] 4) user device 1 initiates an RRC connection establishment procedure, setting the EstablishmentCause in the RRC:RRCConnectionRequest to "pendingLossofCoverage-R13".
[0091] 5) BS2 establishes a connection with user device 1 on Cell2. Based on the EstablishmentCause, eNBl can execute special handling for UE1 (e.g., eNB2 can extend or reduce the Inactivity timer for user device 1, BS2 can choose to exclude user device 1 from RF and/or backhaul bandwidth calculations since user device 1 is only accessing the Celll to make its presence on Celll known, etc., e.g., to cause one or more deactivated neighbour cells to be reactivated).
[0092] 6) BS2 determines the bands supported by user device 1 from user device 1 's UE- EUTRA-Capability IE obtained during the connection establishment procedure. BS2 determines that user device 1 supports the frequency of Celll on BS1, for example.
[0093] 7) BS2 sends an X2AP:CELL ACTIVATION REQUEST to BS 1 to reactivate Celll on BS1. BS2 may also send X2AP: CELL ACTIVATION REQUESTS to other BSs which have cells that are deactivated/in energy savings mode whose frequencies are supported by user device 1.
[0094] 7A) As an optimization (or other example implementation), BS2 may limit the neighbours to be reactivated based on the position and/or direction of user device 1, e.g., so as to reactivate only one or more cells that are nearest to the location of user device 1.
[0095] 8) BS 1 activated/powers on Celll and sends an X2AP: CELL ACTIVATION RESPONSE to BS2, e.g., indicating that cell 1 has been activated.
[0096] 9) BS2 updates SIB4 and/or SIB5 of its cells to indicate that Celll 's frequency no longer has cells which are deactivated/in energy savings mode, e.g., cell 1 no longer includes the energySavingActiveOnNeighbor IE (or deactivatedneighborcell IE) in its transmitted system information. . (NOTE, for example: If not all neighbour cells for a particular frequency were successfully activated/transitioned out of energy savings mode, SIB4 and/or SIB5 would not be updated for that frequency; in such case, cell 1 may continue to transmit the
energySavingActiveOnNeighbor IE/deactivatedneighborcell IE in system information).
[0097] 10) BS2 performs an RRC connection release procedure with UE1, since the connection served is purpose (to cause a neighbour cell to be reactivated), and the connection may now be released.
[0098] 11) User device 1 performs a cell reselection procedure and moves to camp on Celll on BS1. User device 1, now camping on celll, may wake from time to time to receive system information from celll, and check for pages/data directed to user device 1.
[0099] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmit, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receive, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and cancel the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
[00100] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
[00101] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
[00102] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; perform, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; determine, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and send, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
[00103] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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: receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell;
performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
[00104] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
[00105] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and receive, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[00106] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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: transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
[00107] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage. [00108] According to another example implementation, an apparatus may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmit, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receive, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; perform, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and perform, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[00109] According to another example implementation, a computer program product may include 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[001 10] According to another example implementation, an apparatus includes means (e.g., 602A/602B, and/or 604, FIG. 6) for determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell; means for transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell; means for receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause (e.g., establishment cause of pending loss of coverage or an establishment cause of detected pending deactivation of the serving cell; means for performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell; and means for performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
[001 11 ] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., BS or user device) 600 according to an example implementation. The wireless station 600 may include, for example, two RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 602A, 602B, 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) 604 to execute instructions or software and control transmission and receptions of signals, and a memory 606 to store data and/or instructions.
[001 12] Processor 604 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 604, which may be a baseband processor, for example, may generate messages, packets, frames or other signals for transmission via wireless transceiver 602 (602A or 602B). Processor 604 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 602, for example). Processor 604 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 604 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 604 and transceiver 602 together may be considered as a wireless transmitter/receiver system, for example.
[001 13] In addition, referring to FIG. 6, a controller (or processor) 608 may execute software and instructions, and may provide overall control for the station 600, and may provide control for other systems not shown in FIG. 6, 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 600, such as, for example, an email program, audio/video applications, a word processor, a Voice over IP application, or other application or software.
[001 14] 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 604, or other controller or processor, performing one or more of the functions or tasks described above.
[001 15] According to another example implementation, RF or wireless transceiver(s) 602A/602B may receive signals or data and/or transmit or send signals or data. Processor 604 (and possibly transceivers 602A/602B) may control the RF or wireless transceiver 602A or 602B to receive, send, broadcast or transmit signals or data.
[001 16] The embodiments are not, however, restricted to the system that is given as an example, but a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems. Another example of a suitable communications system is the 5G concept. It is assumed that network architecture in 5G will be quite similar to that of the LTE-advanced. 5G is likely to use multiple input - multiple output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than the LTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and perhaps also employing a variety of radio technologies for better coverage and enhanced data rates. [00117] It should be appreciated that future networks will most probably utilise network functions virtualization (NFV) which is a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks" or entities that may be operationally connected or linked together to provide services. A virtualized network function (VNF) may comprise one or more virtual machines running computer program codes using standard or general type servers instead of customized hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In radio communications this may mean node operations may be carried out, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled to a remote radio head. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality of servers, nodes or hosts. It should also be understood that the distribution of labour between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of the LTE or even be non-existent.
[00118] 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).
[00119] 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.
[00120] Furthermore, 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.
[00121] 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.
[00122] 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).
[00123] 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.
[00124] 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.
[00125] 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.
[00126] 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell;
transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation waming indicating a pending deactivation of the cell;
receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and
cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cell comprises a first cell, wherein the determining that there are no user devices connected to the first cell comprises:
determining one or more user devices that are connected to the first cell;
performing a handover of the one or more user devices to a second cell; and
determining, after performing the handover, that there are no user devices connected to the first cell.
3. The method of any of claims 1-2 and further comprising:
initializing, by the base station, a deactivation timer based on transmitting the deactivation waming, wherein the base station will deactivate the cell if the deactivation timer expires without receiving a connection request for the cell.
4. The method of any of claims 1-3 wherein the transmitting a deactivation warning comprises at least one of the following:
transmitting, by the base station for the cell, a deactivation warning information element within a system information block; and
transmitting, by the base station for the cell, an energy savings mode pending information element within a system information block.
5. The method of any of claims 1-4 and further comprising:
discontinuing transmitting, by the base station for the cell, the transmitting the deactivation warning in response to the connection request.
6. The method of any of claims 1-5 wherein the connection request includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
7. The method of any of claims 1 -6 wherein the connection request includes an establishment cause of detected pending deactivation of the serving cell.
8. The method of any of claims 1-7 and further comprising:
performing, by the base station, a connection release procedure with the user device to release a connection established between the base station and the user device without setting up a connection to a core network.
9. The method of any of claims 1-8 wherein the cancelling comprises:
determining that the connection request includes a specific establishment cause;
cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell that includes the specific establishment cause.
10. The method of any of claims 1-9:
wherein the receiving a connection request comprises receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage;
wherein the cancelling comprises cancelling the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
11. 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 base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell;
transmit, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell;
receive, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell; and
cancel the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell from the user device.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the cell comprises a first cell, wherein causing the apparatus to the determine that there are no user devices connected to the first cell comprises:
determining one or more user devices that are connected to the first cell;
performing a handover of the one or more user devices to a second cell; and
determining, after performing the handover, that there are no user devices connected to the first cell.
13. The apparatus of any of claims 11 -12 and further causing the apparatus to:
initialize, by the base station, a deactivation timer based on transmitting the deactivation warning, wherein the base station will deactivate the cell if the deactivation timer expires without receiving a connection request for the cell.
14. The apparatus of any of claims 11 -13 wherein causing the apparatus to transmit a deactivation warning comprises causing the apparatus to perform at least one of the following:
transmit, by the base station for the cell, a deactivation warning information element within a system information block; and
transmit, by the base station for the cell, an energy savings mode pending information element within a system information block.
15. The apparatus of any of claims 11 -14 and further causing the apparatus to: discontinue transmitting, by the base station for the cell, the transmitting the deactivation warning in response to the connection request.
16. The apparatus of any of claims 1 1-15 wherein the connection request includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
17. The apparatus of any of claims 11 -16 wherein and further causing the apparatus to: perform, by the base station, a connection release procedure with the user device to release a connection established between the base station and the user device without setting up a connection to a core network.
18. The apparatus of any of claims 11 -17 wherein causing the apparatus to cancel comprises causing the apparatus to
determine that the connection request includes a specific establishment cause;
cancel the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell that includes the specific establishment cause.
19. The apparatus of any of claims 11 -18:
wherein causing the apparatus to receive a connection request comprises causing the apparatus to receive, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage;
wherein causing the apparatus to cancel comprises causing the apparatus to cancel the pending deactivation of the cell based on the connection request for the cell that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
20. A method comprising:
receiving, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation waming indicating a pending deactivation of the cell;
performing, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device;
determining, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and
sending, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein the deactivation waming comprises at least one of the following:
a deactivation warning information element within a system information block; and an energy savings mode pending information element within a system information block.
22. The method of any of claims 20-21 and further comprising:
detecting, by the user device after sending the connection request, that the base station has discontinued transmitting the deactivation warning for the cell.
23. The method of any of claims 20-22 wherein the connection request includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
24. The method of any of claims 20-23 and further comprising:
returning, by the user device after sending the connection request, to idle mode.
25. 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:
receive, by a user device in idle mode that is camping on a cell, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell;
perform, by the user device, a cell reselection procedure using a cell reselection criteria, to determine whether there is another cell available that can serve the user device; determine, by the user device, that there are no other cells that meet the cell reselection criteria; and
send, from the user device to a base station for the cell, a connection request for the cell to prevent the cell from deactivating.
26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the deactivation warning comprises at least one of the following:
a deactivation warning information element within a system information block; and an energy savings mode pending information element within a system information block.
27. The apparatus of any of claims 25-26 and further causing the apparatus to:
detect, by the user device after sending the connection request, that the base station has discontinued transmitting the deactivation warning for the cell.
28. The apparatus of any of claims 25-27 wherein the connection request includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
29. The apparatus of any of claims 25-28 and further causing the apparatus to:
return, by the user device after sending the connection request, to idle mode.
30. A method comprising:
transmitting, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and
receiving, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
31. The method of claim 30 and further comprising:
receiving, by the first base station from a second base station, an indication that a cell of the second base station has been deactivated; and
transmitting, by the first base station to the second base station in response to the connection request, a cell activation request to request the second base station to activate the cell.
32. The method of any of claims 30-31 wherein the system information comprises at least one of the following:
a first deactivated neighbor cell information element indicating that one or more neighbor cells, having a frequency and radio access technology that is the same as the first base station, have been deactivated; and
a second deactivated neighbor cell information element indicating that one or more neighbor cells, having a frequency or radio access technology that is different than the first base station, have been deactivated.
33. The method of any of claims 30-32 and further comprising:
establishing, by the first base station, a connection to the user device;
determining one or more frequencies and radio access technologies supported by the user device; and
transmitting, by the first base station to another base station that provides one or more selected cells that use the frequency and radio access technology supported by the user device, a cell activation request to request the one or more selected cells be activated.
34. The method of any of claims 30-33 and further comprising:
establishing, by the first base station, a connection to the user device;
estimating a location of the user device; and transmitting, by the first base station to another base station that provides one or more selected cells near the user device, a cell activation request to request that the selected one or more cells be activated.
35. 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:
transmit, by a first base station, system information indicating that one or more neighbor cells have been deactivated; and
receive, by the first base station from a user device in response to the system information, a connection request that includes an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
36. The apparatus of claim 35 and further causing the apparatus to:
receive, by the first base station from a second base station, an indication that a cell of the second base station has been deactivated; and
transmit, by the first base station to the second base station in response to the connection request, a cell activation request to request the second base station to activate the cell.
37. The apparatus of any of claims 35-36 wherein the system information comprises at least one of the following:
a first deactivated neighbor cell information element indicating that one or more neighbor cells, having a frequency and technology that is the same as the first base station, have been deactivated; and
a second deactivated neighbor cell information element indicating that one or more neighbor cells, having a frequency or technology that is different than the first base station, have been deactivated.
38. The apparatus of any of claims 35-37 and further causing the apparatus to:
establish, by the first base station, a connection to the user device;
determine one or more frequencies and technologies supported by the user device; and transmit, by the first base station to another base station that provides one or more selected cells that use the frequency and technology supported by the user device, a cell activation request to request the one or more selected cells be activated.
39. The apparatus of any of claims 35-38 and further causing the apparatus to:
establish, by the first base station, a connection to the user device;
estimate a location of the user device; and transmit, by the first base station to another base station that provides one or more selected cells near the user device, a cell activation request to request that the selected one or more cells be activated.
40. A method comprising:
determining, by a base station, that there are no user devices connected to a cell;
transmitting, by the base station, a deactivation warning indicating a pending deactivation of the cell;
receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with a specific establishment cause; and
performing, by the base station, a handover of the user device to another cell;
performing, by the base station after the handover has been performed for the user device, the deactivation of the cell.
41. The method of claim 40 wherein the receiving a connection request comprises: receiving, by the base station from a user device in an idle state, a connection request for the cell with an establishment cause of pending loss of coverage.
PCT/US2016/026748 2016-04-08 2016-04-08 Dynamic deactivation of cells while accomodating idle user devices in a wireless network WO2017176293A1 (en)

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