Method of counting the number of multimedia broadcasting multicast service subscribers

• US 20060094408A1
• Filed: 10/13/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hu, Hao, Zhang, Wenlin, Qu, Bingyu, Zhang, Hai
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers, comprising: setting different types of notifications, each of which is designed to instruct UEs in at least one mode to respond said counting number of subscribers; the network side issuing different types of notifications, so as to monitor the activation of UEs in at least one mode in the MBMS with said notifications, and thereby achieving counting the number of subscribers of each MBMS. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers provided in the present invention can be used to perform counting the number of subscribers of each MBMS more accurately, so as to take fuller advantage of the precious air interface resource.

Claims

1. A method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers, comprising the following steps of:

setting different types of notifications, each of which is designed to instruct UEs in at least one mode to response to the counting of the number of subscribers;

the network side issuing notifications to UEs, so as to monitor the activation of UEs in at least one mode to a MBMS with said notifications and implement counting on the number of subscribers of the MBMS.

2. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein the RNC at the network side sets the notifications in the MBMS control channel.

3. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein the RNC at the network side issues the notifications to UEs.

4. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the following step before the RNC at the network side issues the notifications to UEs:

Core Network transmits the MBMS session start message to said network side.

5. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the following steps of:

setting the threshold for switching between PTP bearer mode and PTM bearer mode;

the network side comparing the counting result of the number of MBMS subscribers with said switching threshold, and choosing the appropriate bearer mode according to the comparison result and transmitting MBMS service data to UEs.

6. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 5, wherein if the counting result of the number of MBMS subscribers is greater than or equal to the said switching threshold by comparison, the network side will choose PTM mode to transmit the MBMS service data to UEs;

otherwise the network side will choose PTP mode to transmit the MBMS service data to the UEs.

7. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein

said notification is designed to instruct UEs in Connected mode and UEs in Idle mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers;

or

it is designed to instruct UEs in Idle mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers;

or

it is designed to instruct UEs in Discontinuous Reception mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers;

or

it is designed to instruct UEs in Idle mode and UEs in Discontinuous Reception mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers.

8. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein different types of notifications are represented in different binary numbers.

9. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 7, wherein said process of counting the number of subscribers of each MBMS service further comprises of:

the network side issuing the notification to the UEs to instruct at least one of UEs in Connected mode or UEs in Idle mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers; and

through monitoring the activation of at least one of UEs in Connected mode or UEs in Idle mode to the MBMS service, the network side achieving counting the number of subscribers of each MBMS service.

10. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 9, wherein said method also comprises the following steps after said process of counting the number of subscribers of each MBMS service is completed:

a Core Network transmitting the MBMS session information to the network side;

the network side performing recounting on the number of subscribers of each MBMS through reissuing different types of notifications to UEs according to the predefined decision condition.

11. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 10, wherein said process that the said network side performs recounting the number of subscribers through reissuing different types of notifications to UEs according to the decision condition further comprises of:

setting the Threshold for switching between PTP bearer mode and PTM bearer mode;

supposing the number of UEs which receive the MBMS data and whose detail cell location information are known by the RNC in each cell is n (a natural number);

when the network side finds the number of UEs accessing the MBMS in URA_PCH state is less than or equal to value (Threshold-Max(n)), the network side performing recounting the number of subscribers of each MBMS through reissuing the notification to the UEs to instruct UEs in Idle mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers;

said UE in URA_PCH state being a UE in Discontinuous Reception mode.

12. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 10, wherein said process that the said network side performs recounting the number of subscribers through reissuing different types of notifications to UEs according to the decision condition further comprises of:

setting the Threshold for switching between PTP bearer mode and PTM bearer mode;

supposing the number of UEs which receive the MBMS data and whose detail cell location information are known by the RNC in each cell is n (a natural number);

when the network side finds the number of UEs accessing the MBMS in URA_PCH state is less than or equal to value (Threshold-Max(n)), it performing recounting the number of subscribers of each MBMS through reissuing the notification to the UEs to instruct UEs in Idle mode and UEs in Discontinuous Reception mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers;

said UE in URA_PCH state being a UE in Discontinuous Reception mode.

13. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 10, wherein said process that the said network side performs recounting the number of subscribers through reissuing different types of notifications to UEs according to the decision condition further comprises of:

setting the Threshold for switching between PTP bearer mode and PTM bearer mode;

supposing the number of UEs which receive the MBMS data and whose detail cell location information are known by the RNC in each cell is n (a natural number);

when the network side finds the number of UEs accessing the MBMS in URA_PCH state exceeds value (Threshold-Max(n)), the network side performing recounting the number of subscribers of each MBMS through reissuing the notification to the UEs to instruct the UEs in Discontinuous Reception mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers;

said UE in URA_PCH state being a UE in Discontinuous Reception mode.

14. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 7, wherein

UEs in Idle mode respond to the notification that instructs UEs in Idle mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers at the probability specified by RNC;

UEs in Discontinuous Reception mode respond to the notification that instructs UEs in Discontinuous Reception mode to respond to counting the number of subscribers at the probability specified by RNC or entirely.

15. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein at least one of UEs in URA_PCH state or UEs in CELL_PCH state use cell update process to respond to the counting instruction sent from the network.

16. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein at least one of UEs in CELL_FACH state or UEs in CELL_DCH state use dedicated channel transmission to respond to the counting instruction sent from the network.

17. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 1, wherein UEs in CELL_FACH state use cell update process to respond to the counting instruction sent from the network.

18. The method of counting the number of MBMS subscribers according to claim 15, wherein UEs in CELL_FACH state use cell update process to respond to the counting instruction sent from the network.