BASE STATION CONTROL

• US 20090280854A1
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Khan, Mohammad Ather, Zaporozhets, Andrew, Zhou, Hai
• Granted Patent: US 8,428,638 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/522
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/287 when the channel is in stand-by
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/38 TPC being performed in particular situations

Abstract

A method of controlling a base station, a network controller, a base station, a telecommunications network and a computer program product are disclosed. A method of controlling a base station (140; 150; 160) in a mobile telecommunications network (220) comprises the steps of: (i) determining whether a base station within the mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment (110; 120; 130) and, if so, then (ii) signalling the base station to reduce its transmission power. An assessment is made as to whether a base station is currently supporting user equipment. If a base station is currently supporting user equipment, then that base station is unlikely to be a candidate to have its power reduced since support to that user equipment needs to be maintained. However, if a base station is not supporting user equipment, then that base station would appear to be a likely candidate for transmission power reduction, thereby saving power in the network at those locations where it is possible to do so.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a base station in a mobile telecommunications network, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) determining whether a base station within said mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment and, if so, then

(ii) signalling said base station to reduce its transmission power.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (i) comprises:

determining whether at least one of a plurality of base stations within said mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment and is not indicated within a neighbour list associated with one of said plurality of base stations which is supporting user equipment and if so, then said step (ii) comprises;

signalling said at least one of a plurality of base stations to reduce its transmission power.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (i) comprises:

determining whether at least one of a plurality of base stations within said mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment but is indicated within a neighbour list associated with one of said plurality of base stations which is supporting user equipment, and whether said at least one of a plurality of base stations is predicted based on historical user equipment location information to be unlikely to be required to support said user equipment and if so, then said step (ii) comprises;

signalling said at least one of a plurality of base stations to reduce its transmission power.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (i) comprises:

determining whether said base station within said mobile telecommunications network is designated as being required to maintain a predetermined transmission power level in order to provide minimal coverage for user equipment and, if so, then preventing reduction in transmission power of said base station below said predetermined transmission power level,

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (i) comprises:

determining whether a base station within said mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment within a sector associated with that base station and, if so, then said step (ii) comprises;

signalling said base station to reduce transmission power within said sector.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (ii) comprises reducing transmission power by switching to a reduced transmission power state which reduces user equipment coverage provided by said base station.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (ii) comprises reducing power transmission by switching to an inactive state which provides no user equipment coverage by said base station.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said step (i) comprises determining whether said base station within said mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment by determining whether no indication has been received from either user equipment or said base station for a predetermined period which indicates that said base station is supporting user equipment.

14. A method as set forth in claim 1 implemented in a computer program product operable, when executed on a computer, to perform the method.

9. A network controller for controlling base stations in a mobile telecommunications network, said network controller comprising:

determination logic operable to determine whether a base station within said mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment; and

transmission power control logic operable, in response to said logic indicating that said base station is not supporting user equipment, to signal said base station to reduce its transmission power.

10. A base station for a mobile telecommunications network, said base station comprising:

usage logic operable to indicate to a network controller whether user equipment is being supported; and

transmission power logic operable, in response to a signal from said network controller to said base station indicating that a reduction in its transmission power is required, to cause said base station to reduce its transmission power.

11. The base station as claimed in claim 10, wherein said transmission power logic is operable in response to said signal to said base station to reduce its transmission power to cause said base station to reduce its power consumption when said usage logic indicates that user equipment is not being supported.

12. The base station as claimed in claim 10, wherein said base station is designated as being required to maintain a predetermined transmission power level in order to provide minimal coverage for user equipment and said transmission power logic is operable in response to said signal to said base station to reduce its transmission power to prevent said base station from reducing its power consumption below said predetermined transmission power level.

13. A telecommunications network comprising:

at least one network controller comprising determination logic operable to determine whether a base station within said mobile telecommunications network is not supporting user equipment and transmission power control logic operable, in response to said logic indicating that said base station is not supporting user equipment to signal said base station to reduce its transmission power; and

at least one base station comprising usage logic operable to indicate to a network controller whether user equipment is being supported and transmission power logic operable, in response to a signal from said network controller to said base station indicating that a reduction in its transmission power is required, to cause said base station to reduce its transmission power.