Radio access network node for a telecommunication network

• US 10,425,845 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2016
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Inventors: Bizzarri, Simone, Buldorini, Andrea, Schiavoni, Andrea
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Mahendra
• Application Number:
  US16/090,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20190116507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 455446, 455512, 455440, 370338, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/02 Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas RAKE receivers H04B1/7115
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/085 involving beams of access points

Abstract

A radio access network node of a telecommunication network and method, the node including: a system of radiating antennas radiating radio signals through a geographic territory, and a processor configured to execute computer-readable instructions to: obtain or generate a topographic map of the geographic territory; based on the topographic map, calculate a coverage map of radio coverage of the geographic territory by the radiated radio signals; based on the coverage map, shrink the topographic map to obtain a reduced-size topographic map; based on the calculated coverage map, create a first data structure including plural first data structure records, one for each point of the calculated coverage map, each first data structure records providing a description of a service delivery capability of the node in that point, and exploit the first data structure to decide how to serve user equipment located in the territory corresponding to the reduced-size topographic map.

Claims

1. A radio access network node of a telecommunication network, comprising:

a system of radiating antennas comprising at least one radiating antenna for radiating radio signals through a geographic territory;

a processor configured to execute computer-readable instructions to;

obtain or generate a topographic map describing topography of the geographic territory;

based on the topographic map, calculate a coverage map of radio coverage of the geographic territory by the radio signals radiated by the system of radiating antennas;

based on the coverage map, shrink the topographic map to obtain a reduced-size topographic map describing the topography of a geographic area, within the geographic territory, that can be served by the node;

based on the calculated coverage map, create a first data structure comprising a plurality of first data structure records, one for each point of the calculated coverage map, each of the first data structure records providing a description of a service delivery capability of the node in that point;

exploit the first data structure to decide how to serve user equipment located in the territory corresponding to the reduced-size topographic map.

2. The radio access network node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-readable instructions to:

identify neighbor network nodes in a neighborhood of the node;

based on the reduced-size topographic map, create a second data structure comprising a plurality of second data structure records, one for each point of the reduced-sized topographic map, each of the second data structure records providing a description of a service delivery capability, in that point, of at least one neighbor network node; and

decide whether to have the node serve or continue to serve a user equipment located in a point of the geographic area served by the node or to cause the node to ask a neighbor node to serve the user equipment, based on the data contained in the first data structure and second data structure.

3. The radio access network node of claim 1, wherein the topographic map of the geographic territory comprises one among a two-dimensional (2D) map of the geographic area enriched with estimations of heights and a three-dimensional (3D) topography map of the geographic territory.

4. The radio access network node of claim 1, wherein the topographic map of the geographic territory is either downloaded from a remote database of digital topographic maps of the environment, or generated onsite by the node or by a remote system in real time by processing mono/stereoscopic images of the environment.

5. The radio access network node of claim 1, wherein the description of a service delivery capability of the node in a point comprises one or more of:

an indication of a Radio Access Technology (RAT) used to serve that point;

an indication of a radiating antenna of the system of radiating antennas used to cover that point;

an indication of a frequency channel associated to that point;

an indication of a radio coverage quantity associated to that point.

6. The radio access network node of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to execute computer-readable instructions to update the first data structure in response to a change in a configuration of the network node.

7. The radio access network node of claim 2, wherein each of the second data structure records contains data corresponding to the data contained in the first data structure record of the at least one neighbor network node for the considered point.

8. The radio access network node of claim 7, wherein each of the second data structure records comprises an identifier of the at least one neighbor node.

9. The radio access network node of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to execute computer-readable instructions to update the second data structure in response to a change in a configuration of at least one neighbor network node.

10. The radio access network node of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-readable instructions to:

create a third data structure comprising a plurality of third data structure records, each of the third data structure records comprising, for user equipment served by the node, data indicative of territory points, in the territory corresponding to the reduced-size topographic map, visited by the served user equipment, and data indicative of types of services provided by the node to the served user equipment in each territory point.

11. The radio access network node of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-readable instructions to:

exploit the information contained in the third data structure for deriving at least one of;

a geo-referenced map of the services provided by the node to user equipment for the time the user equipment are served by the node;

trajectories of the user equipment served by the node N;

and

decide in advance actions to be undertaken by the node, the actions including at least one of;

selection of the best serving radiating antenna for optimization of coverage while each user equipment is moving;

optimization overall service capability of the node, including selection of the radiating antenna adapted to reduce interference and energy consumption;

management of interference by selecting radiating antennas to serve different user equipment or changing serving radio frequency or RAT, based on data contained in the first data structure and second data structure;

change of serving node.

12. The radio access network node of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-readable instructions to:

create a fourth data structure comprising a list of fourth data structure records, one for each point of the reduced-size topographic map, each of the fourth data structure records containing data indicative of the type of services required in the time by user equipment that remain stationary in that point for a predetermined time duration; and

exploit the information contained in the fourth data structure for having the node to foresee services to be provided to served user equipment approaching a point of the reduced-size topographic map.

13. A method of operating a radio access network node of a telecommunication network, the node including a system of radiating antennas including at least one radiating antenna for radiating radio signals through a geographic territory, the method comprising:

obtaining or generating a topographic map describing topography of the geographic territory;

based on the topographic map, calculating a coverage map of radio coverage of the geographic territory by the radio signals radiated by the system of radiating antennas;

based on the coverage map, shrinking the topographic map to obtain a reduced-size topographic map describing the topography of a geographic area, within the geographic territory, that can be served by the node;

based on the calculated coverage map, creating a first data structure comprising a plurality of first data structure records, one for each point of the calculated coverage map, each of the first data structure records providing a description of a service delivery capability of the node in that point;

exploiting the first data structure to decide how to serve user equipment located in the territory corresponding to the reduced-size topographic map.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

identifying neighbor network nodes in a neighborhood of the node;

based on the reduced-size topographic map, creating a second data structure comprising a plurality of second data structure records, one for each point of the reduced-size topographic map, each of the second data structure records providing a description of a service delivery capability, in that point, of at least one neighbor network node; and

deciding whether to have the node serve or continue to serve a user equipment located in a point of the geographic area served by the node or to cause the node to ask a neighbor node to serve the user equipment, based on the data contained in the first data structure and second data structure.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising either downloading the topographic map of the geographic territory from a remote database of digital topographic maps of the environment, or generating the topographic map onsite at the node or at a remote system in real time by processing mono/stereoscopic images of the environment.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the description of a service delivery capability of the node in a point comprises one or more of:

an indication of a Radio Access Technology (RAT) used to serve that point;

an indication of a radiating antenna of the system of radiating antennas used to cover that point;

an indication of a frequency channel associated to that point;

an indication of a radio coverage quantity associated to that point.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising updating the first data structure in response to a change in a configuration of the network node.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the second data structure records comprises data corresponding to the data contained in the first data structure record of the at least one neighbor network node for the considered point, and an identifier of the at least one neighbor node.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating the second data structure in response to a change in a configuration of at least one neighbor network node.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

creating a third data structure comprising a plurality of third data structure records, each of the third data structure records comprising, for user equipment served by the node, data indicative of territory points, in the territory corresponding to the reduced-size topographic map, visited by the served user equipment, and data indicative of types of services provided by the node to the served user equipment in each territory point.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

exploiting the information contained in the third data structure for deriving at least one of;

a geo-referenced map of the services provided by the node to user equipment for the time the user equipment are served by the node;

trajectories of the user equipment served by the node N;

and

deciding in advance actions to be undertaken by the node, such actions including at least one of;

selection of the best serving radiating antenna for optimization of coverage while each user equipment is moving;

optimization overall service capability of the node, including selection of the radiating antenna adapted to reduce interference and energy consumption;

management of interference by selecting radiating antennas to serve different user equipment or changing serving radio frequency or RAT, based on data contained in the first data structure and second data structure;

change of serving node.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

creating a fourth data structure comprising a list of fourth data structure records, one for each point of the reduced-size topographic map, each of the fourth data structure records containing data indicative of the type of services required in the time by user equipment that remain stationary in that point for a predetermined time duration; and

exploiting the information contained in the fourth data structure for having the node to foresee services to be provided to served user equipment approaching a point of the reduced-size topographic map.