Controlling usage capacity in a radio access network

• US 20070026884A1
• Filed: 07/28/2005
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ericsson Evdo, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Airvana Incorporated (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rao, Prashanth
• Granted Patent: US 8,111,253 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/522
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/28 using user profile, e.g. mobile speed, priority or network state, e.g. standby, idle or non transmission

Abstract

In a radio access network, techniques for controlling relative usages, by different groups of access terminals in communication with a radio access network, of available power handling capacity of the radio access network, based on information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

controlling relative usages, by different groups of access terminals in communication with a radio access network, of available power handling capacity of the radio access network, based on information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

controlling levels of transmission power used by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network, based on information about levels of transmission power associated with different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

controlling the level of transmission power used by one or more of the groups of access terminals to enable differentiated performance amongst groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein performance comprises temporal factors.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein performance is measured by uplink data rate, uplink latency, or both.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling is performed at a base transceiver station.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling is performed at a base station controller.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the radio access network comprises a code division multiple access network.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the radio access network comprises a first evolution-data optimized or a first evolution-data/voice compliant network.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein each group comprises at least one access terminal in communication with the radio access network.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network comprises relative levels of transmission power used by the groups of access terminals.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network is exchanged between base transceiver stations in the radio access network.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network is sent from a base transceiver station to a base station controller for processing at the base station controller.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a relative level of transmission power used by a group of access terminals.

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

comparing a decodable signal power received by a base transceiver station in the radio access network, transmitted by the group of access terminals, with a total power received by the base transceiver station in the radio access network.

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

determining a decodable signal power transmitted by the group of access terminals and received by a base transceiver station in the radio access network.

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

determining a total power received by a base transceiver station in the radio access network.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

comparing an actual load associated with levels of transmission power used by a group of access terminals to a target load associated with the group of access terminals.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the target load associated with a group of access terminals comprises a proportion of a predetermined target rise-over-thermal (ROT) used to control transmissions in the radio access network.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling comprises setting transmission rate limits for different access terminals in communication with the radio access network.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the setting comprises transmitting a rate limit to the access terminal.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the transmitting comprises:

broadcasting a rate limit message to the access terminal in one or more of the sectors in which the access terminal has a connection.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the transmitting comprises:

unicasting a rate limit message to the access terminal in one or more of the sectors in which the access terminal has a connection.

24. A machine readable medium that stores executable instructions, the instructions causing the machine to:

control relative usages, by different groups of access terminals in communication with a radio access network, of available power handling capacity of the radio access network, based on information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network

25. The machine readable medium of claim 24 further comprising instructions to cause the machine to control levels of transmission power used by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network, based on information about levels of transmission power associated with different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network.

26. The machine readable medium of claim 24 further comprising instructions to cause the machine to control the level of transmission power used by one or more of the groups of access terminals to enable differentiated performance amongst groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network

27. The machine readable medium of claim 26 wherein performance comprises temporal factors.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 27 wherein performance is measured by uplink data rate, uplink latency, or both.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 24 wherein the information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network comprises relative levels of transmission power used by the groups of access terminals.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 29 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to control relative usages comprise instructions to exchange information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network with a base transceiver station in the radio access network.

31. The machine readable medium of claim 29 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to control relative usages comprise instructions to send information about usages by different groups of access terminals in communication with the radio access network to a base station controller for processing at the base station controller.

32. The machine readable medium of claim 24 further comprising instructions to cause the machine to determine a relative level of transmission power used by a group of access terminals.

33. The machine readable medium of claim 32 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to determine a relative level of transmission power comprise instructions to compare a decodable signal power received by a base transceiver station in the radio access network, transmitted by the group of access terminals, with a total power received by the base transceiver station in the radio access network.

34. The machine readable medium of claim 32 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to determine a relative level of transmission power comprise instructions to determine a decodable signal power transmitted by the group of access terminals and received by a base transceiver station in the radio access network.

35. The machine readable medium of claim 32 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to determine a relative level of transmission power for a group of access terminals comprises instructions to determine a total power received by a base transceiver station in the radio access network.

36. The machine readable medium of claim 24 further comprising instructions to cause the machine to compare an actual load associated with levels of transmission power used by a group of access terminals to a target load associated with the group of access terminals.

37. The machine readable medium of claim 36 wherein the target load associated with a group of access terminals comprises a proportion of a predetermined target rise-over-thermal (ROT) used to control transmissions in the radio access network.

38. The machine readable medium of claim 24 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to control relative usages comprise instructions to set transmission rate limits for different access terminals in communication with the radio access network.

39. The machine readable medium of claim 24 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to control relative usages comprise instructions to transmit a rate limit to an access terminal.

40. The machine readable medium of claim 39 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to transmit the rate limit comprise instructions to broadcast a rate limit message to the access terminal in one or more of the sectors in which the access terminal has a connection.

41. The machine readable medium of claim 39 wherein the instructions to cause the machine to transmit the rate limit comprises instructions to unicast a rate limit message to the access terminal in one or more of the sectors in which the access terminal has a connection.