Radio channel allocation and link adaption in cellular telecommunication system

• US 20070173271A1
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conversant Wireless Licensing S.à.r.l. (f/k/a Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.) (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Hulkkonen, Jari, Piirainen, Olli
• Granted Patent: US 8,320,947 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/509
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1027 assessing signal quality or detecting noise/interference for the received signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2601 Multicarrier modulation systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/3488 Multiresolution systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference

Abstract

A network element, a terminal and a method of allocating a radio channel to a connection between a terminal and a base station in a telecommunication system are provided. The number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels are determined, and channel allocation is performed on the basis of the determination.

Claims

1. A method of allocating a radio channel to a connection between a terminal and a base station in a telecommunication system, the method comprising:

determining a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

performing channel allocation on the basis of the determination.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

the determination of the number and properties of potential interferers comprises calculating the number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of radio channels and comparing the number and properties of potential interferers of the plurality of radio channels with each other, and

wherein performing channel allocation comprises performing channel allocation on the basis of the comparison.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the properties of the potential interferers comprises at least one of a signal level of the interferer, modulation method used by the interferer, and signal bandwidth of the interferer.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising prioritising available radio channels according to the number or the properties of potential interferers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculation of the number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of radio channels comprises carrying out downlink measurements in a number of terminals of the telecommunication system.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining for a number of available radio channels, on the basis of downlink measurements carried out by a number of terminals of the telecommunication system, cells of telecommunication system which would be interfered with by uplink transmission of a terminal to which a radio channel is to be allocated.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a modulation method for the allocated radio channel on the basis of the number and properties of potential interferers of the radio channel.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a group of carrier waves modulated at a first modulation symbol rate are utilised in transmission, the carrier waves being separated by a predetermined carrier spacing, and that at least one wide-band carrier wave in the group of carrier waves is generated by applying linear modulation at a second modulation symbol rate, the second modulation symbol rate being a multiple of the first modulation symbol rate, while preserving the predetermined carrier spacing and allowing the at least one wide-band carrier wave to overlap with at least one adjacent carrier wave.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising utilising frame based transmission, a frame comprising time slots, and utilising a wide-band carrier at least in one time slot of the frame.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising allocating a time slot in which a wide-band carrier is used to the terminal.

11. A method of allocating a radio channel to a terminal in a telecommunication system, comprising at least a base station and terminals, the method comprising:

measuring, in the terminals, signal strengths of base stations surrounding each terminal;

calculating base station coverage areas which would be interfered with by uplink transmission of a terminal to which the radio channel is to be allocated;

calculating a number of interferers interfering with the uplink transmission of the terminal to which the radio channel is to be allocated and properties of the interfering signals; and

performing channel allocation on a terminal on the basis of the calculations.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

rearranging channel allocations of the base station serving the terminal to which the radio channel is to be allocated and of the surrounding base stations prior to performing the channel allocation so that the radio channel to be allocated is interfered with by only one interfering signal.

13. A method of performing link adaptation on a connection between a terminal and a base station in a telecommunication system, the method comprising:

determining a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

performing link adaptation on a connection on the basis of the determination.

14. A network element of a telecommunication system, configured to allocate radio channels to connections between terminals and base stations of the telecommunication system, the network element being configured to:

determine a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

perform channel allocation on a connection on the basis of the determination.

15. The network element of claim 14, wherein the properties of potential interferers comprise at least one of a signal level of the interferer, modulation method used by the interferer, and signal bandwidth of the interferer.

16. The network element of claim 14, wherein the network element is configured to prioritise available radio channels primarily according to the number of potential interferers and secondarily according to the properties of the interferers, and perform channel allocation on the basis of the prioritisation.

17. A network element of a telecommunication system, configured to allocate radio channels to terminals of the telecommunication system and to receive from terminals of the telecommunication system measurement results relating to signal strength of a signal received by each terminal from base stations surrounding the terminal;

the network element being configured to;

calculate base station coverage areas which would be interfered with by uplink transmission of a terminal to which the radio channel is to be allocated;

calculate the number of interferers interfering with the uplink transmission of the terminal to which the radio channel is to be allocated; and

perform channel allocation on a terminal on the basis of the calculations.

18. The network element of claim 17, wherein available radio channels comprise:

a group of carrier waves modulated at a first modulation symbol rate, the carrier waves being separated by a predetermined carrier spacing; and

at least one wide-band carrier wave generated by applying linear modulation at a second modulation symbol rate, the second modulation symbol rate being a multiple of the first modulation symbol rate, while preserving the predetermined carrier spacing and allowing the at least one wide-band carrier wave to overlap with at least one adjacent carrier wave.

19. A base station controller of a telecommunication system, for controlling a number of base stations connected to the base station controller, configured to allocate radio channels to terminals of the telecommunication system for communicating with at least one base station, the base station being controller is configured to:

determine a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of radio channels; and

perform channel allocation on a terminal on the basis of the determination.

20. A telecommunication system, comprising a network element for allocating radio channels to connections between terminals and base stations of the telecommunication system, the system comprising:

a network element for determining a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels, and performing channel allocation on a connection on the basis of the determination.

21. A network element of a telecommunication system, configured to perform link adaptation on connections between terminals and base stations of the telecommunication system, the network element being configured to:

determine a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

perform link adaptation on a connection on the basis of the determination.

22. A terminal of a telecommunication system, configured to allocate radio channels to connections between the terminal and base stations of the telecommunication system, the terminal being configured to:

determine a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

perform channel allocation on a connection on the basis of the determination.

23. A computer program product embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for allocating a radio channel to a connection between a terminal and a base station in a telecommunication system, the process comprising:

determining a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

performing channel allocation on the basis of the determination.

24. A computer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for allocating a radio channel to a connection between a terminal and a base station in a telecommunication system, the process comprising:

determining a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

performing channel allocation on the basis of the determination.

26. The computer program distribution medium of claim 24, the distribution medium including at least one of a computer readable medium, a program storage medium, a record medium, a computer readable memory, a computer readable software distribution package, a computer readable signal, a computer readable telecommunications signal, and a computer readable compressed software package.

25. A computer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for performing link adaptation to a connection between a terminal and a base station in a telecommunication system, the process comprising:

determining a number and properties of potential interferers in a plurality of available radio channels; and

performing link adaptation on the basis of the determination.