WO2020109872A1 - Nœud de réseau doté d'un réseau d'antennes configurable - Google Patents

Nœud de réseau doté d'un réseau d'antennes configurable Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2020109872A1
WO2020109872A1 PCT/IB2019/051587 IB2019051587W WO2020109872A1 WO 2020109872 A1 WO2020109872 A1 WO 2020109872A1 IB 2019051587 W IB2019051587 W IB 2019051587W WO 2020109872 A1 WO2020109872 A1 WO 2020109872A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
network node
antenna array
subarray
antenna
network
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2019/051587
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Ping Liu
Shiwei Gao
Edwin Vai Hou Iun
Edward Sich
Original Assignee
Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) filed Critical Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Publication of WO2020109872A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020109872A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
    • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
    • H04B7/06—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station
    • H04B7/0613—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station using simultaneous transmission
    • H04B7/0615—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station using simultaneous transmission of weighted versions of same signal
    • H04B7/0617—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station using simultaneous transmission of weighted versions of same signal for beam forming
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
    • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
    • H04B7/06—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the transmitting station
    • H04B7/0686—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission
    • H04B7/0691—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and simultaneous transmission using subgroups of transmit antennas
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
    • H04B7/02—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas
    • H04B7/04—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas
    • H04B7/08—Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas using two or more spaced independent antennas at the receiving station
    • H04B7/0868—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and combining
    • H04B7/0874—Hybrid systems, i.e. switching and combining using subgroups of receive antennas

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to configurable active antennas.
  • the Fifth Generation (5G), also referred to as New Radio (NR), radio access network (RAN) is under development and will be a combination of a distributed RAN (D-RAN), centralized RAN (C-RAN), virtualized RAN (vRAN) or a combination of these networks as shown in FIG. 1. Coexistence of these networks provides flexibility in implementation and requires coordination and connectivity between otherwise unsynchronized nodes. Dynamic coordination at the node level may not be possible unless all of the components are implemented with dynamic coordination contemplated by wireless equipment manufacturers.
  • the antenna In legacy RAN radio design, the antenna has traditionally been designed, manufactured and configured only once in the antenna’s lifetime. This may in some cases be an acceptable approach because antenna design can be optimized for cost and because network planning allows a certain degree of tolerance.
  • An antenna array is typically comprised of a two-dimensional arrangement of subarrays.
  • FIG. 2 shows a subarray containing three antenna elements.
  • each of those antenna elements may contain a bi-polarized dipole pair to transmit and receive signals in different polarizations.
  • the antenna subarray contains three elements but forms only two antenna branches (or antenna ports, each is attached to a transmitter and/or receiver circuitry so that signal received from or transmitted to each antenna port can be individually processed or controlled), where each antenna branch contains three dipoles with the same polarization direction for the three elements.
  • three antenna elements are shown per branch in FIG. 2, other quantities of antenna elements to form the antenna sub-array can be implemented.
  • a subarray can be formed in either analog circuit domain, where the antenna elements in a subarray are hard wired, or in digital domain in which each antenna element has its own associated circuitry including analog to digital (A/D) and digital to analog (D/A) conversion circuitry such that a subarray can be formed flexibly through computer programming.
  • A/D analog to digital
  • D/A digital to analog
  • the quantity of elements forming the antenna subarray is fixed at the time of design and manufacture.
  • This fixed sub-array configuration may be acceptable because it is typically a cross-polarized antenna design for fourth generation (4G), e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), radio access networks.
  • 4G fourth generation
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • AAS radio is one of the technologies that will allow Fifth Generation (5G) wireless networks to provide a good user experience.
  • AAS implementations integrate the antenna with the electronics which form the radio frequency (RF) interfaces for the transmit and receive functions of the radio equipment, resulting in a reduction in losses, and an increase in overall performance of the RF system as compared with non- AAS systems.
  • Active antenna designs allow antennas of limited size to have a higher efficiency than passive antennas due to reduced inherent losses, and also, in the case of 5G system deployment, an advanced digital beam forming capability.
  • the assigned spectrum may be in a high frequency range, e.g., in the 30+ Giga Hertz (GHz) range.
  • GHz Giga Hertz
  • a statically designed and manufactured approach may not suffice to give the promised 5G system performance.
  • the manufacturer may have to create one radio hardware variant for each scenario.
  • this hardware is configured once and cannot adapt to the dynamic changes of user distribution and/or traffic loads in a given deployment environment.
  • one AAS may be designed for a densely populated area, while another AAS may be designed for coverage in sparsely populated areas.
  • the optimum beam shapes and density may change, with fixed antenna counts due to the current“bounding” with the radio hardware. It is not practical to adjust the beams to best suit the needs of a changing communication environment.
  • operators seek ways to reduce the operating cost such as by reducing power consumption in a way that retains flexibility and performance.
  • business competition may force operators to partner or consolidate to maximize capital investment.
  • some operators may spin off their operations to cover a specific business (e.g., Internet of things (IoT)), which could require a change in hardware and antenna configuration.
  • IoT Internet of things
  • Some embodiments advantageously provide methods and network nodes for implementing configurable active antennas.
  • a configurable active antenna enables the radio base station to be able to reconfigure the antenna branch counts and the number of elements involved per sub-array to engineer the best coverage in various specific scenarios.
  • the AAS antenna orientation (with the same antenna branch count) can also be reconfigured to better suit the environments at installation time.
  • An energy saving algorithm may be introduced as a benefit of some embodiments of a configurable Active Antenna System.
  • a network node configured to communicate with a plurality of wireless devices.
  • the network node has processing circuitry configured to receive or generate a reconfiguration request requesting a
  • the processing circuitry is configured to reconfigure the antenna array responsive to the reconfiguration request according to the deployment scenario, the fault trigger and/or the traffic load.
  • the reconfiguring includes repartitioning the antenna array into subarrays each having a subarray size and number of one or more subarray elements.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements are specified in the reconfiguration request.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based at least in part on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request.
  • the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load.
  • the reconfiguring further includes generating a subarray beam pattern having an elevation angle and azimuth angle.
  • the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are specified in the reconfiguration request. In some embodiments, the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based at least in part on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request. In some embodiments, the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load.
  • the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based at least in part on resource utilization in the network node and/or in neighbor network nodes. In some embodiments, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based at least in part on a number of active wireless devices in the network node and/or in neighbor network nodes. In some embodiments, the deployment scenario corresponds to a network environment served by the antenna array, the network environment being one of an urban environment, a suburban environment, and a rural environment.
  • the deployment scenario corresponds to one or more of a cell size, a height of the antenna array deployed above ground, an orientation of the antenna array with respect to ground, a transmit power of the network node, and distribution of the wireless devices in elevation and/or azimuth angles with respect to the antenna array.
  • the reconfiguring includes assigning a subpanel of the antenna array to a network operator.
  • the reconfiguring includes assigning antenna elements of multiple subpanels of the antenna array to a network operator.
  • the reconfiguring includes reconfiguring different portions of antenna elements of the antenna array to support at least two different radio access technologies.
  • the different radio access technologies include New Radio, NR, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
  • the reconfiguring includes deactivating or turning off a subset of active antenna elements when the network node is in an energy saving mode.
  • the reconfiguration request is generated when a fault is detected in the network node or the antenna array. In some embodiments, the reconfiguration request is generated during an initial installation of the antenna array.
  • a method implemented in a network node includes receiving or generating a reconfiguration request requesting a
  • the method also includes reconfiguring the antenna array responsive to the reconfiguration request according to the deployment scenario, the fault trigger and/or the traffic load.
  • the reconfiguring includes repartitioning the antenna array into subarrays each having a subarray size and number of one or more subarray elements.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements are specified in the reconfiguration request.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based at least in part on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request.
  • the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load.
  • the reconfiguring further includes generating a subarray beam pattern having an elevation angle and azimuth angle.
  • the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are specified in the reconfiguration request. In some embodiments, the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based at least in part on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request.
  • the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load.
  • the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based at least in part on resource utilization in the network node and/or in neighbor network nodes.
  • the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based at least in part on a number of active wireless devices in the network node and/or in neighbor network nodes.
  • the deployment scenario corresponds to a network environment served by the antenna array, the network environment being one of an urban environment, a suburban environment, and a rural environment.
  • the deployment scenario corresponds to one or more of a cell size, a height of the antenna array deployed above ground, an orientation of the antenna array with respect to ground, a transmit power of the network node, and distribution of the wireless devices in elevation and azimuth angles with respect to the antenna array.
  • the reconfiguring includes assigning a subpanel of the antenna array to a network operator.
  • the reconfiguring includes assigning antenna elements of multiple subpanels of the antenna array to a network operator.
  • the reconfiguring includes reconfiguring different portions of antenna elements of the antenna array to support at least two different radio access technologies.
  • the different radio access technologies include New Radio, NR, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
  • the reconfiguring includes deactivating or turning off a subset of active antenna elements when the network node is in an energy saving mode.
  • the reconfiguration request is generated when a fault is detected in the network node or the antenna array. In some embodiments, the reconfiguration request is generated during an initial installation of the antenna array.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram of a 5G radio access network (RAN);
  • RAN radio access network
  • FIG. 2 is a subarray having three elements
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary network architecture illustrating a communication system connected via an intermediate network to a host computer according to the principles in the present disclosure
  • FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a network node with a wireless device over an at least partially wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an active antenna in a radio interface of a network node
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system for implementing a configurable active antenna array
  • FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary subarray grouping manipulator.
  • FIG. 8 is a cloud implementation of a system for implementing a configurable active antenna array.
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for executing a client application at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data from the wireless device at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for processing a request for reconfiguration of an antenna array according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 15 is a diagram of different configurations of different antenna subarrays involving different antenna elements
  • FIG. 16 is an exemplary panel transformation, one for horizontal beamforming and one for combined horizontal and vertical beamforming;
  • FIG. 17 is a diagram of 4 rows by 4 columns of antenna elements with cross- polarization arranged as 2 rows by 4 columns of subarrays;
  • FIG. 18 is a graph of mean user throughput versus system load
  • FIG. 19 is a graph of mean radio resource utilization as a function of served traffic
  • FIG. 20 illustrates a first example of subpanel grouping for two different radio access technologies
  • FIG. 21 illustrates a second example of subpanel grouping for two different radio access technologies.
  • relational terms such as“first” and“second,”“top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements.
  • the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein.
  • the singular forms“a”,“an” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  • the joining term,“in communication with” and the like may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example.
  • electrical or data communication may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example.
  • the term“coupled,”“connected,” and the like may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.
  • network node can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) no
  • BS base station
  • wireless device or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably.
  • the WD herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD over radio signals, such as wireless device (WD).
  • the WD may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) WD, machine type WD or WD capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with WD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer
  • CPE Premises Equipment
  • IoT Internet of Things
  • NB-IOT Narrowband IoT
  • the generic term“radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).
  • RNC evolved Node B
  • MCE Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity
  • RRU Remote Radio Unit
  • RRH Remote Radio Head
  • wireless system such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and/or New Radio (NR)
  • NR New Radio
  • WCDMA Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access
  • WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
  • UMB Ultra Mobile Broadband
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • active antenna includes an array of antenna elements, and may be referred to as an array antenna, an antenna array or an active antenna array.
  • An array antenna may be organized into subarrays, in which each subarray has a plurality of the antenna elements.
  • Subarrays may also be referred to herein as subarray panels, antenna subpanels or array subpanels.
  • an active antenna, array antenna or active antenna array may include a plurality of active antenna subpanels, each active antenna subpanel having a plurality of antenna elements.
  • functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and/or network nodes.
  • the functions of the network node and wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.
  • Embodiments provide a configurable active antenna.
  • the subarray size, including the antenna elements in each subarray of the array antenna, and the subarray beam pattern may be reconfigurable according to deployment scenarios and also traffic loads.
  • Reconfigure- ability enables the same type of array antenna to be deployed in different scenarios and to be configured to try to optimize performance according to traffic loads. This could save both design and manufacturing costs compared to custom design and manufacture of different antennas for different scenarios. Reconfigure- ability also allows
  • the reconfiguration can result in a desired beam shape.
  • reconfiguration requests may be iteratively generated to achieve real time traffic and environment learning to optimize antenna usage in real time.
  • the reconfiguration may be fault-triggered such as when, an antenna element fails, and the reconfiguration accommodates the failure by reconfiguring the remaining antenna elements to overcome any loss of performance that would arise from the failed antenna element.
  • the resources at the antenna site can be changed to meet the dynamic landscape of business operation. This can be the sharing of antenna resources among business partners, easing the migration of client from one radio access technology (RAT) to the next, such as from Fourth Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) to 5G New Radio (NR), allowing more refined network slicing, and introducing new business vertical implementation such as Internet of Things (IoT) to an operating 4G network.
  • RAT radio access technology
  • NR Fifth Generation
  • IoT Internet of Things
  • the flexible antenna sub-array configuration described herein enables an Active Antenna System (AAS) to operate in an energy saving mode with better shaping of the beam patterns to fulfill end user needs by enabling additional elements per sub-array or disabling unnecessary elements per sub-array.
  • AAS Active Antenna System
  • FIG. 3 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and/or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14.
  • the access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18).
  • Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20.
  • a first wireless device (WD) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16c.
  • a second WD 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16a. While a plurality of WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole WD is in the coverage area or where a sole WD is connecting to the corresponding network node 16.
  • a WD 22 can be in simultaneous communication and/or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16.
  • a WD 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR.
  • WD 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE/E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR/NG-RAN.
  • the communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm.
  • the host computer 24 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the connections 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24 or may extend via an optional intermediate network 30.
  • the intermediate network 30 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network.
  • the intermediate network 30, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
  • the communication system of FIG. 3 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected WDs 22a, 22b and the host computer 24.
  • the connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection.
  • the host computer 24 and the connected WDs 22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection, using the access network 12, the core network 14, any intermediate network 30 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries.
  • the OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications.
  • a network node 16 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 24 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected WD 22a. Similarly, the network node 16 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the WD 22a towards the host computer 24.
  • the network node 16 is configured to include a Radio Interface 62 which is configured to reconfigure an active antenna 63 of the network node 16.
  • the active antenna 63 includes a collection of array subpanels, each array subpanel having a plurality of antenna elements.
  • a host computer 24 comprises hardware (HW) 38 including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device in the communication system 10.
  • the host computer 24 further comprises processing circuitry 42, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities.
  • the processing circuitry 42 may include a processor 44 and memory 46.
  • the processing circuitry 42 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions.
  • processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs Field Programmable Gate Array
  • ASICs Application Specific Integrated Circuitry
  • the processor 44 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 46, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read- Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • memory 46 may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read- Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by host computer 24.
  • Processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing host computer 24 functions described herein.
  • the host computer 24 includes memory 46 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein.
  • the software 48 and/or the host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42, causes the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to host computer 24.
  • the instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.
  • the software 48 may be executable by the processing circuitry 42.
  • the software 48 includes a host application 50.
  • the host application 50 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a WD 22 connecting via an OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24.
  • the host application 50 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 52.
  • The“user data” may be data and information described herein as implementing the described functionality.
  • the host computer 24 may be configured for providing control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to observe, monitor, control, transmit to and/or receive from the network node 16 or the wireless device 22 or both.
  • the communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 58 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 24 and with the WD 22.
  • the hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the
  • the radio interface 62 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.
  • the communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24.
  • the connection 66 may be direct or it may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and/or through one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.
  • the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 68.
  • the processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72.
  • the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions.
  • FPGAs Field Programmable Gate Array
  • ASICs Application Specific Integrated Circuitry
  • the processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • volatile and/or nonvolatile memory e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • the network node 16 further has software 74 stored internally in, for example, memory 72, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection.
  • the software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68.
  • the processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16.
  • Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing network node 16 functions described herein.
  • the memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein.
  • the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68, causes the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16.
  • processing circuitry 68 of the network node 16 may include the Radio Interface 62 configured to reconfigure the active antenna 63 of the network node 16. This reconfiguring may be a reconfiguring of array subpanels and/or antenna array elements.
  • the communication system 10 further includes the WD 22 already referred to.
  • the WD 22 may have hardware 80 that may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 64 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located.
  • the radio interface 82 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.
  • the hardware 80 of the WD 22 further includes processing circuitry 84.
  • the processing circuitry 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88.
  • the processing circuitry 84 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions.
  • the processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 88, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • memory 88 may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • the WD 22 may further comprise software 90, which is stored in, for example, memory 88 at the WD 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the WD 22.
  • the software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84.
  • the software 90 may include a client application 92.
  • the client application 92 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the WD 22, with the support of the host computer 24.
  • an executing host application 50 may communicate with the executing client application 92 via the OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24.
  • the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data.
  • the OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data.
  • the client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
  • the processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by WD 22.
  • the processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing WD 22 functions described herein.
  • the WD 22 includes memory 88 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein.
  • the software 90 and/or the client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84, causes the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to WD 22.
  • the inner workings of the network node 16, WD 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in FIG. 4 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 3.
  • the OTT connection 52 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 24 and the wireless device 22 via the network node 16, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from the WD 22 or from the service provider operating the host computer 24, or both. While the OTT connection 52 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or
  • the wireless connection 64 between the WD 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the WD 22 using the OTT connection 52, in which the wireless connection 64 may form the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.
  • a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24 or in the software 90 of the WD 22, or both.
  • sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 52 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 48, 90 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.
  • the reconfiguring of the OTT connection 52 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the network node 16, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Some such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary WD signaling facilitating the host computer’s 24 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like.
  • the measurements may be implemented in that the software 48, 90 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages or overhead messages, using the OTT connection 52 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
  • the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and a communication interface 40 that is configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to the WD 22.
  • the cellular network also includes the network node 16 with a radio interface 62.
  • the network node 16 is configured to, and/or the network node’s 16 processing circuitry 68 is configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for
  • the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 and a communication interface 40 that is configured to a communication interface 40 configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a WD 22 to a network node 16.
  • the WD 22 is configured to, and/or comprises a radio interface 82 and/or processing circuitry 84 configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for
  • FIG. 5 shows a more detailed block diagram of one embodiment of the radio interface 62 which may be implemented to achieve configurable active antenna arrays in accordance with the principles disclosed herein.
  • the radio interface 62 may include a baseband unit 93 and radio equipment 94.
  • the radio interface 62 has an active antenna 63 that includes an antenna interface 95 and active antenna array subpanels 96 within an antenna array 97, which may be contained within an active antenna housing structure.
  • a massive multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) antenna may include a two-dimensional array of active antenna elements.
  • the massive MIMO antenna may be owned and operated by one operator for one service.
  • some embodiments make use of modular construction and create an individual antenna subpanel 96 as a building block.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates the baseband unit and the radio equipment in distinct rows, it is possible to have some of the rows being merged or shared. For example, one operator could be a subsidiary of another operator, or an operator may decide to lease some of its capital to another operator, or the antenna structure may be owned by a landlord rather than an operator.
  • Radio Interface 62 may be performed by processing circuitry 68 and some of the data used and generated in the Radio Interface 62.
  • FIG. 5 shows the active antenna 63 and its components (the antenna interface 95 and the active antenna sub-panels 96) as being part of the radio interface 62, it is contemplated that other embodiments can implement the active antenna 63 as components separate from the radio interface 62. In other words, the active antenna 63 can be physically separate both in terms of housing and/or location from the other elements of the radio interface 62, e.g., the radio equipment 94 and/or the baseband units 93.
  • the radio interface 62 includes an active antenna radio equipment pool 100 which may include one or more active antenna radio equipment 150, operating service cluster 200 and active antenna 63. Note that, in some embodiments, some of the functions of the radio interface 62 can be performed by the processing circuitry 68 and some of the data used and generated in the performance of these functions may be stored in memory 72. Further, in other embodiments some of these functions may be performed by the processor 70 under the directions of software stored in the memory 72.
  • the digital front end 110 is configured to receive the digital data from one or more baseband units 222, 224, in the baseband unit pool 220.
  • a digital data multiplexer 112 collects and distributes the digital data to and from the baseband units 222, 224.
  • the antenna array mapping controller 120 uses a Tx complex vector modulator 122 to generate downlink digital beamforming baseband waveforms for each of the analog front end power amplifier (PA) 132.
  • PA analog front end power amplifier
  • the Rx complex vector demodulator 124 collects the digitized waveform from each of the low noise amplifier (LNA) 136 and automatic gain control (AGC) to synthesize an uplink beamforming signal.
  • the analog front end 130 contains an array of components including the indicated power amplifier (PA) 132 and low noise amplifier (LNA) and automatic gain control (AGC) 136.
  • the analog front end 130 also includes a filter or duplexer 134 to separate the uplink signal and downlink signal.
  • Some embodiments include an active antenna configuration controller local 160, which functions to coordinate the state, the input signal and output signal with the active antenna 63.
  • the active antenna configuration controller local 160 allows plug-in units to achieve the aforementioned capabilities of antenna reconfigure- ability.
  • the subarray grouping manipulator 164 may control the direction and diversity dispersion of the antenna beam.
  • the digital source to analog signal partition mapper 166 realizes the multi-operator deployment by carefully planning the signal routing between the filter 134 and the baseband unit pool 220.
  • the energy monitoring and manipulation unit 168 achieves the thinning for energy conservation by adjusting the on/off state of the power amplifier (PA) 132. It should be noted that each plug-in unit may work coherently under the supervision of the active antenna configuration controller local 160.
  • the operating service cluster 200 includes a baseband unit pool 220 connecting to one or more radio equipment.
  • the cardinality relationship between the baseband unit pool 220 and the radio unit is, in general, many-to-many.
  • the operating service A baseband unit 222 represents the source of baseband data belonging to an operator or a service unit of an operator (for example the LTE unit, the Internet of Things (IoT) unit, or a geographical operating region).
  • the operating service B baseband unit 224 is a similar baseband unit but belonging to a“B” operating service.
  • An active antenna configuration interface 260 may be configured to receive or to generate active antenna re-configuration requests from one or more of the operating units.
  • the active antenna configuration interface 260 may also serve as an
  • the active antenna configuration controller remote 262 serves as the counterpart of the active antenna configuration controller local 160. As mentioned, there will be multitudes of the active antenna radio equipment 100, the connection line illustrating multiple cardinality. Some configuration responsibilities can be allocated and/or shared between the remote unit 262 and local units 100 depending on the network topology.
  • the active antenna 63 may include one or more active antenna sub-panels 96. Each active antenna sub-panel 96 contains an array of active antenna elements 312. Each active antenna element 312 can be individually controlled by the subarray grouping manipulator 164 shown in FIG. 7. Typically, there is a one-to-one mapping between the active antenna element 312 and analog front end filter 134.
  • subarray grouping manipulator 164 can be implemented in multiple ways. One example embodiment is described here.
  • the subarray grouping manipulator 164 receives a list of input signals and the desired output pattern from active antenna configuration controller local 160.
  • the antenna pattern can be a beam of a particular sharpness or diversity.
  • the subarray grouping manipulator 164 configures the digital front end 110 and antenna array mapping controller 120 based on those routing instructions. The frequency of this re-configuration may be based on the arbitration of the operator.
  • FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a cloud implementation of a system for configuration of a configurable active antenna 63 which includes some functions of active antenna radio equipment 150 and functions of the operating service cluster 200 of the radio interface 62 being performed remote from the network node 16.
  • the analog front end 130 is at the network node 16, remote from the cloud.
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIGS. 3 and 4, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIG. 4.
  • the host computer 24 provides user data (Block S100).
  • the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50 (Block S102).
  • the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block S104).
  • the network node 16 transmits to the WD 22 the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer 24 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block S106).
  • the WD 22 executes a client application, such as, for example, the client application 92, associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (Block s 108).
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 3, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
  • the host computer 24 provides user data (Block SI 10).
  • the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50.
  • the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block S 112).
  • the transmission may pass via the network node 16, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • the WD 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (Block S 114).
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 3, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
  • the WD 22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 16).
  • the WD 22 executes the client application 92, which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 18).
  • the WD 22 provides user data (Block S120).
  • the WD provides the user data by executing a client application, such as, for example, client application 92 (Block S122).
  • client application 92 may further consider user input received from the user.
  • the WD 22 may initiate, in an optional third substep, transmission of the user data to the host computer 24 (Block S124).
  • the host computer 24 receives the user data transmitted from the WD 22, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block S126).
  • FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 3, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
  • the network node 16 receives user data from the WD 22 (Block S128).
  • the network node 16 initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (Block S130).
  • the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the network node 16 (Block S132).
  • FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an exemplary process performed in a network node 16 for configuring an active antenna 63 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.
  • One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 68, processor 70, radio interface 62 and/or communication interface 60.
  • Network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 68 and/or processor 70 and/or radio interface 62 and/or communication interface 60 is configured to receive or generate, via the processing circuitry 68, a reconfiguration request requesting a reconfiguration of an antenna array 97 of the network node 16, the requested reconfiguration being based at least in part on a deployment scenario, a fault trigger or a traffic load (Block S134).
  • the process further includes reconfiguring, via the radio interface 62, the antenna array 97 responsive to the reconfiguration request according to the deployment scenario, the fault trigger or the traffic load (Block S136).
  • FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for configuring a configurable active antenna as described above. The process includes, during an initial
  • the process also includes receiving at the active antenna configuration interface 260, a process reconfiguration request, (Block S202), from one or more service operators which may arise from a triggering condition such as a time of day.
  • a reconfiguration is determined based on the request.
  • the active antenna configuration interface 260 checks for any dependency, capabilities and resources, analyzes the request and distributes messages to one or more antenna configuration system controllers 262, 160 (Block S204).
  • the active antenna configuration controllers 262, 160 observes and determines whether the request is properly fulfilled (Block S206). If the re configuration is successful, this new configuration is broadcasted to all stakeholders by the radio interface 62 (Block S208).
  • the radio interface 62 completes the requested reconfiguration and gets ready for the next re-configuration request. If the reconfiguration is not successful, the failure may be reported by the network node 16 to the originator of the request (Block S210). The originator may further investigate the cause of the failure.
  • the traditional configuration of an active antenna 63 is illustrated in the upper left of FIG. 15, where all radiating antenna elements 312 (or subarray statically formed by elements) work coherently to form a beam towards the designated one or more WDs 22 and all of such radiating antenna elements 312 belong to the same operating service provider.
  • the upper right hand of FIG. 15 there is shown two sub panels 96 with horizontally grouped elements and two sub panels 96 with vertically grouped elements.
  • different sub panels 96 are assigned to different operators.
  • Subarray size and the number of horizontal and vertical antenna elements 312 are traditionally designed to tradeoff between the number of RF branches and the flexibility to control antenna beams.
  • the subarray beam pattern generally also determines the cell coverage area in azimuth and elevation angles, which is typically deployment dependent.
  • a subarray panel 96 may be designed for each deployment scenario.
  • traffic load in a network also may have an impact on optimal subarray beam pattern.
  • a subarray beam pattern may be designed to avoid causing neighbor cell interference as most of the time, neighbor cell users are also active.
  • interference to neighbor cells is less of a concern as most of the users are inactive and the probability of causing interference may be low.
  • a wider subarray beam may provide better coverage of WDs 22 at the cell edge. Therefore, it may be desirable to have subarray panel 96 and subarray beam patterns configurable based on both deployment scenario and network traffic load.
  • the number of antenna elements 312 as well as the location of antenna elements 312 can be selected to form the antenna subarray panel 96.
  • Each subarray panel 96 may be configured to address a certain demand.
  • the active antenna 63 can contain a combination of these subarray panels 96.
  • 16 illustrates an example where the left group of subpanels 96 are configured for horizontal beamforming, while the right group of subpanels 96 have two subpanels 96 that are configured for vertical beamforming and two subpanels 96 that are configured for horizontal beam forming.
  • the subarray beam pattern can be configurable based on deployment scenario (such as urban, suburban, cell size, base station antenna height, etc.) and also traffic load.
  • deployment scenario such as urban, suburban, cell size, base station antenna height, etc.
  • traffic load such as urban, suburban, cell size, base station antenna height, etc.
  • FIG. 17 One example of an antenna array 230 with 16 pairs of cross polarized antenna elements 312 (i.e., 4 rows by 4 columns of antenna elements with cross- polarization arranged as 2 rows by 4 columns of subarrays) is shown in FIG. 17.
  • the configuration of FIG. 17 may be deployed in each cell of a homogeneous wireless network, for example, under the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 3 Dimensional Urban Micro (3D UMi) channel environment (3GPP Technical Standard TR36.873, v2.0).
  • the antenna array 230 of FIG. 17 is divided into 8 subarrays (i.e., 8 antenna branches for each polarization) each having two adjacent vertical antenna elements 312, resulting in 16 branches in total.
  • the subarray beam pattern may be formed by applying a phase shift across the two antenna elements 312 in the subarray.
  • the phase shift to be applied may determine the elevation angle, also referred to as the down tilt angle.
  • the phase shift may be zero for a zero elevation angle.
  • Zero elevation angle means pointing the subarray beam at the horizon.
  • FIG. 18 shows the mean user throughput decreases as the system load or served traffic increases. At a given system load point, the throughput also depends on the subarray down tilt. Throughput for two down tilt angles, 5 and 30 degrees, are shown in the FIG. 18. It can be seen that at low system loads (or low served traffic), a down tilt angle of 5 degrees gives higher throughput. As system loads increase, the two curves approach each other. After a certain load point, user throughput becomes better with a down tilt of 30 degrees.
  • FIG. 19 shows the corresponding mean radio resource utilization as a function of the served traffic. It can be seen that the cross over point is slightly above 50% resource utilization.
  • an optimal subarray down tilt angle may be obtained for each traffic load point for a given subarray and deployment scenario.
  • the system load can be monitored continuously and a suitable subarray down tilt angle can be used accordingly to maximize system performance.
  • only a subset of subarray panels 96 may be used to transmit certain signals.
  • an antenna array 97 can be partitioned by grouping antenna elements 312 into a number of subarray panels 96 for transmitting signals/channels intended to all WDs 22 in a cell. Different subarray panels 96 may be used at different times so that diversity can be achieved.
  • a reconfiguration method enables users to install the same type of AAS radio of a network node 16 with totally different orientations to fit a specific site need during installation.
  • some embodiments provide an antenna subarray reconfiguration capability which allows the same type of AAS radio of a network node 16 to be installed at different sites with different orientation to address different use cases and user needs (e.g., high-rise building vs high-way type of user coverage).
  • FIG. 20 shows an example of a logical partitioning by active antenna subpanels 96.
  • the upper panel is allocated to LTE while the lower panel is allocated to NR.
  • Some embodiments are based on the concept of active antenna element grouping configurations. For example, in FIG. 21 odd numbered elements can be allocated to LTE while even numbered elements can be allocated to NR.
  • the grouping can be an engineered subset of active antenna elements 312 from more than one subpanel 96. More generally, the odd number rows of all subpanels 96 can be allocated to one operator, RAT or signal. Alternatively, every other element in each row can be allocated to an operator, RAT or signal. Or, different subpanels 96 can be allocated to different operators, RATs or signals.
  • the subpanel grouping as shown in FIG. 20 is one choice because each operator may desire to secure control of the operator’s asset to the extent possible.
  • One distinct benefit is that the maintenance window does not need to be coordinated with another tenant of the shared resources panel structure.
  • the grouping of active antenna elements 312 across subpanels 96 has advantages.
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • HSPA high speed packet access
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • HSPA high speed packet access
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • HSPA high speed packet access
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • HSPA high speed packet access
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NR New Radio
  • One such example is the coexistence of NR and LTE at low- or mid-frequency bands.
  • One option is to partition the antenna array 97 into two parts, one part for LTE and the other part for NR as shown in FIG. 20, where one antenna subpanel 96 is used for LTE and the other antenna subpanel 96 is used for NR.
  • the partition can be based on antenna elements 312 or ports, in which different antenna elements 312 in each antenna subpanel 96 are used for LTE and NR.
  • FIG. 21 One example of this is shown in FIG. 21.
  • the port or antenna element based partition is more flexible in the sense that different numbers of antenna ports may be allocated to NR and LTE depending on service requirements such as coverage, total transmit power, etc.
  • Network slicing which may be used in Fifth Generation (5G) networks in a competitive landscape.
  • Network slicing addresses the deployment of multiple logical networks as independent business operations on a common physical infrastructure.
  • 5G may have low latency and good quality throughput, and this is useful for applications such as remote medical diagnosis.
  • Some applications call for high quality of service (QoS) and may subscribe the network for a fixed period each day but relinquish the network back to the operator for the remaining part of the day.
  • QoS quality of service
  • Some embodiments improve network slicing because the reconfiguration can be achieved down to the subpanel level in contrast to the rigidity of previous methods.
  • some embodiments may allocate subpanels 96 or elements 312 based on a QoS to be provided by a network operator.
  • Thinning for Energy Conservation Traditional methods for energy saving include backing off antenna branch power level and/or conducting antenna branch level muting. Both of these approaches will inevitably reduce the cell size and the coverage area.
  • the beam can be more finely tuned in shape with reduced output power to better suit the end users’ need and the traffic pattern. For example, a power back-off cell can be compensated by a sharper beam towards the user.
  • Another energy saving mode of operation includes increasing the antenna gain by adding the number of antenna elements per sub-array, while either the total power is backed off or some antenna branches are muted.
  • the antenna subarray panel 96 can be reconfigured to enable a beam shape not in the traditional form (such as azimuth or horizontal) to address a specific traffic pattern, such as a stadium during a game where center of the stadium does not need coverage. This configuration can result in muting the unneeded antenna elements 312 to save energy.
  • a network node 16 configured to communicate with a plurality of wireless devices 22.
  • the network node 16 has processing circuitry 68 configured to receive or generate a reconfiguration request requesting a reconfiguration of an antenna array 97 of the network node 16, the requested reconfiguration being based at least in part on a deployment scenario, a fault trigger and/or a traffic load.
  • the processing circuitry 68 is configured to reconfigure the antenna array 97 responsive to the reconfiguration request according to the deployment scenario, the fault trigger and/or the traffic load.
  • the reconfiguring includes repartitioning the antenna array 97 into subarrays each having a subarray size and number of one or more subarray elements 312.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements 312 are specified in the reconfiguration request.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements 312 are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request.
  • the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load.
  • the reconfiguring further includes generating a subarray beam pattern having an elevation angle and azimuth angle.
  • the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are specified in the reconfiguration request. In some embodiments, the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request. In some embodiments, the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load. In some embodiments, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based on resource utilization in the network node 16 and/or in neighbor network nodes 16. In some embodiments, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based on a number of active wireless devices 22 in the network and/or in a neighbor network.
  • the deployment scenario corresponds to a network environment served by the antenna array 97, the network environment being one of an urban environment, a suburban environment, and a rural environment. In some embodiments, the deployment scenario corresponds to one or more of a cell size, a height of the antenna array 97 deployed above ground, an orientation of the antenna array 97 with respect to ground, a transmit power of the network node 16, and distribution of the wireless devices 22 in elevation and/or azimuth angles with respect to the antenna array 97.
  • the reconfiguring includes assigning a subpanel of the antenna array 97 to a network operator. In some embodiments, the reconfiguring includes assigning antenna elements 312 of multiple subpanels 96 of the antenna array 97 to a network operator.
  • the reconfiguring includes reconfiguring different portions of antenna elements 312 of the antenna array 97 to support at least two different radio access technologies.
  • the different radio access technologies include New Radio, NR, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
  • the reconfiguring includes deactivating or turning off a subset of active antenna elements 312 when the network node 16 is in an energy saving mode.
  • the reconfiguration request is generated when a fault is detected in the network node 16 or the antenna array 97. In some embodiments, the reconfiguration request is generated during an initial installation of the antenna array 97.
  • a method implemented in a network node 16 includes receiving or generating a reconfiguration request requesting a
  • the method also includes reconfiguring the antenna array 97 responsive to the reconfiguration request according to the deployment scenario, the fault trigger and/or the traffic load (Block S136).
  • the reconfiguring includes repartitioning the antenna array 97 into subarrays each having a subarray size and number of one or more subarray elements 312.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements 312 are specified in the reconfiguration request.
  • the subarray size and the number of subarray elements 312 are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request.
  • the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load.
  • the reconfiguring further includes generating a subarray beam pattern having an elevation angle and azimuth angle.
  • the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are specified in the reconfiguration request. In some embodiments, the subarray beam pattern, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are determined via a predefined or dynamically updated database based on input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request. In some embodiments, the input parameters provided in the reconfiguration request are selected from a set including the deployment scenario and/or the traffic load. In some embodiments, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based on resource utilization in the network node 16 and/or in neighbor network nodes 16. In some embodiments, the elevation angle and azimuth angle are selected based on a number of active wireless devices 22 in the network and/or in neighbor network.
  • the deployment scenario corresponds to a network environment served by the antenna array 97, the network environment being one of an urban environment, a suburban environment, and a rural environment. In some embodiments, the deployment scenario corresponds to one or more of a cell size, a height of the antenna array 97 deployed above ground, an orientation of the antenna array 97 with respect to ground, a transmit power of the network node 16, and distribution of the wireless devices 22 in elevation and/or azimuth angles with respect to the antenna array 97.
  • the reconfiguring includes assigning a subpanel of the antenna array 97 to a network operator. In some embodiments, the reconfiguring includes assigning antenna elements 312 of multiple subpanels 96 of the antenna array 97 to a network operator.
  • the reconfiguring includes reconfiguring different portions of antenna elements 312 of the antenna array 97 to support at least two different radio access technologies.
  • the different radio access technologies include New Radio, NR, and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
  • the reconfiguring includes deactivating or turning off a subset of active antenna elements 312 when the network node 16 is in an energy saving mode.
  • the reconfiguration request is generated when a fault is detected in the network node 16 or the antenna array 97.
  • the reconfiguration request is generated during an initial installation of the antenna array 97.
  • the reconfiguration request is generated during an initial installation of the antenna array 97.
  • a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD), the network node configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface and/or comprising processing circuitry configured to:
  • Embodiment A2 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the reconfiguring includes selecting a subarray size and number of elements in a subarray.
  • Embodiment A3 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the reconfiguring includes selecting a beam pattern and a down tilt angle.
  • Embodiment A4. The network node of Embodiment A3, wherein the down tilt angle is selected to achieve one of a predetermined throughput and predetermined resource utilization ⁇
  • Embodiment A5 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the deployment scenario includes whether an environment served by the antenna array is one of an urban environment and a suburban environment.
  • Embodiment A6 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the deployment scenario includes one of a cell size and an antenna height.
  • Embodiment A7 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the reconfiguring includes assigning a subpanel of the antenna array to an operator.
  • Embodiment A8 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the reconfiguring includes assigning antenna elements of multiple subpanels of the antenna array to an operator.
  • Embodiment A9 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the reconfiguring includes reconfiguring different portions of the antenna element to different radio access technologies.
  • Embodiment A10 The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the reconfiguring includes reducing a number of active antenna elements in an energy saving mode.
  • Embodiment Bl A method implemented in a network node, the method comprising:
  • Embodiment B2 The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the
  • reconfiguring includes selecting a subarray size and number of elements in a subarray.
  • Embodiment B3. The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the
  • reconfiguring includes selecting a beam pattern and a down tilt angle.
  • Embodiment B4 The method of Embodiment B3, wherein the down tilt angle is selected to achieve one of a predetermined throughput and predetermined resource utilization ⁇
  • Embodiment B5. The method of Embodiment B 1, wherein the
  • deployment scenario includes whether an environment served by the antenna array is one of an urban environment and a suburban environment.
  • Embodiment B6 The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the
  • deployment scenario includes one of a cell size and an antenna height.
  • Embodiment B7 The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the
  • reconfiguring includes assigning a subpanel of the antenna array to an operator.
  • Embodiment B 8 The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the
  • reconfiguring includes assigning antenna elements of multiple subpanels of the antenna array to an operator.
  • Embodiment B9 The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the
  • reconfiguring includes reconfiguring different portions of the antenna element to different radio access technologies.
  • Embodiment B10 The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the
  • reconfiguring includes reducing a number of active antenna elements in an energy saving mode.
  • the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a“circuit” or“module.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.
  • These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other
  • the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
  • Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Java® or C++.
  • the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language.
  • the program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer.
  • the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
  • LAN local area network
  • WAN wide area network
  • Internet Service Provider for example, AT&T, MCI, Sprint, EarthLink, MSN, GTE, etc.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un noeud de réseau et un procédé de mise en oeuvre d'un réseau d'antennes actives configurable. Selon un aspect, un procédé comprend la réception ou la génération d'une demande de reconfiguration demandant une reconfiguration d'un réseau d'antennes du nœud de réseau, la reconfiguration demandée étant basée, au moins en partie, sur un scénario de déploiement et une charge de trafic. Le procédé comprend également la reconfiguration du réseau d'antennes en réponse à la demande de reconfiguration afin de générer un motif de faisceau du réseau d'antennes selon le scénario de déploiement et la charge de trafic.
PCT/IB2019/051587 2018-11-27 2019-02-27 Nœud de réseau doté d'un réseau d'antennes configurable WO2020109872A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201862771775P 2018-11-27 2018-11-27
US62/771,775 2018-11-27

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2020109872A1 true WO2020109872A1 (fr) 2020-06-04

Family

ID=65911225

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/IB2019/051587 WO2020109872A1 (fr) 2018-11-27 2019-02-27 Nœud de réseau doté d'un réseau d'antennes configurable

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2020109872A1 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2021253159A1 (fr) * 2020-06-15 2021-12-23 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Procédé et appareil d'accord de faisceau radio
WO2022128278A1 (fr) * 2020-12-18 2022-06-23 British Telecommunications Public Limited Company Commande d'un point d'accès radio

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6400335B1 (en) * 2000-08-09 2002-06-04 Lucent Technologies Inc. Dynamic load sharing system and method using a cylindrical antenna array
US20090023477A1 (en) * 2007-07-19 2009-01-22 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Method and apparatus for reconfiguring a multi-sector base station
US20170311176A1 (en) * 2014-11-03 2017-10-26 Lg Electronics Inc. Method and device for performing cell shaping
WO2018001180A1 (fr) * 2016-06-29 2018-01-04 华为技术有限公司 Système d'antenne et procédé de réglage de système d'antenne
CN104159277B (zh) * 2013-05-16 2018-06-19 中国电信股份有限公司 一种基站节能装置和方法

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6400335B1 (en) * 2000-08-09 2002-06-04 Lucent Technologies Inc. Dynamic load sharing system and method using a cylindrical antenna array
US20090023477A1 (en) * 2007-07-19 2009-01-22 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Method and apparatus for reconfiguring a multi-sector base station
CN104159277B (zh) * 2013-05-16 2018-06-19 中国电信股份有限公司 一种基站节能装置和方法
US20170311176A1 (en) * 2014-11-03 2017-10-26 Lg Electronics Inc. Method and device for performing cell shaping
WO2018001180A1 (fr) * 2016-06-29 2018-01-04 华为技术有限公司 Système d'antenne et procédé de réglage de système d'antenne
US20190132742A1 (en) * 2016-06-29 2019-05-02 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Antenna system and antenna system adjustment method

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2021253159A1 (fr) * 2020-06-15 2021-12-23 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) Procédé et appareil d'accord de faisceau radio
WO2022128278A1 (fr) * 2020-12-18 2022-06-23 British Telecommunications Public Limited Company Commande d'un point d'accès radio
WO2022128277A1 (fr) * 2020-12-18 2022-06-23 British Telecommunications Public Limited Company Commande d'un point d'accès radio

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US10804991B2 (en) Methods and apparatus to support mobility through beam tracking in new radio access system
US10129887B2 (en) Wireless system with configurable radio and antenna resources
US8903454B2 (en) Base station and radio unit for creating overlaid sectors with carrier aggregation
KR102380185B1 (ko) 무선 통신 시스템에서 빔포밍을 운용하기 위한 장치 및 방법
EP3744016B1 (fr) Priorité de sélection de faisceau
US20200359404A1 (en) Beam selection systems and methods
US11350329B2 (en) Signal management method, related apparatus, and related system
WO2015139475A1 (fr) Procédé et dispositif de configuration de mise en réseau fusionnée
WO2020109872A1 (fr) Nœud de réseau doté d'un réseau d'antennes configurable
US20230361847A1 (en) Selective radio frequency (rf) reference beam radiation in a wireless communications system (wcs) based on user equipment (ue) locations
US20230361979A1 (en) Selection of tdd patterns for dl and ul communication
CN112956133B (zh) 虚拟化有源天线系统（aas）中的端口到天线映射设计
US11968009B2 (en) Generation of a beam set
US20230403065A1 (en) Communication using a dual polarized antenna array
US20230239738A1 (en) Distribution of traffic between a macro access node and a micro access node in a heterogeneous network
US20230018602A1 (en) Indoor ceiling radio unit for distributed antenna systems
US20240106523A1 (en) Method and system for downlink out-of-band interference mitigation
US20220352628A1 (en) Phase array antenna radios optimized for indoor communication
WO2024074882A1 (fr) Algorithme de précodage pour architectures radio sans circulateur
WO2022123300A1 (fr) Configuration à deux livres de codes et combinaison de csi pour systèmes d'antennes actives à grande échelle
EP4029301A1 (fr) Agencement et procédé mis en oeuvre dans celui-ci pour traiter une communication

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 19713579

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 19713579

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1