Method And System Of Radio Communication

• US 20090325577A1
• Filed: 03/23/2005
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Wahlberg, Ulrik, Furtenback, Ros-Marie
• Granted Patent: US 9,967,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/436
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0061 of neighbour cell information

Abstract

The present invention relates to handover in a communications system, and more especially it relates cell change using Iu-interface dependent neighbor-cell lists, particularly in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS or WCDMA system.

Claims

1. A method for connection handover between cells or base stations of an at least partly shared radio access network of a radio communications system also comprising a core network, the method characterized in that

a serving operator is determined according to data of an interface between radio access network and core network of the radio communications system;

a neighbor-cell list including cells shared with or run by the serving operator is established; and

the neighbor-cell list is transferred to user equipment involved in the connection.

2. The method according to claim 1 characterized in that the interface is an Iu interface of a WCDMA system.

3. The method according to claim 1 characterized in that the neighbor-cell list is obtained by excluding one or more cells or base stations not being cells or base stations of neither the shared part of the at least partly shared network nor the serving operator.

4. The method according to claim 1 characterized in that the neighbor-cell list is included in a Measurement Control Message for transfer to a User Equipment unit.

11. A radio communications system characterized by means for carrying out the method in claim 1.

5. A radio access network element, the radio access network element being connected to a core network and one or more base stations or one or more radio network controllers, the radio access network element being characterized by processing means for processing a neighbor-cell list and for extracting information from an interface to a core network, the neighbor-cell list being processed to include or exclude network operators depending on information extracted from the interface.

6. The radio access network element according to claim 5 characterized by the processing means being arranged for inclusion of information provided by a serving operator and being extracted from communications over the interface.

7. The radio access network element according to claim 5 characterized by the processing means being arranged for exclusion of information in the neighbor-cell list related to one or more operators not being extracted from communications over the interface.

8. The radio access network element according to claim 5 characterized in that the exclusion of information is related to operators neither being an operator of the radio access network residing the radio access network element nor of an operator with which the radio access network element is shared.

9. The radio access network element according to claim 5 characterized in that the interface is an Iu interface of a WCDMA system.

10. The radio access network element according to claim 5 characterized in that it is a radio network controller.

12. A radio communications system characterized by a plurality of radio access network elements in claim 5, the plurality of radio access network elements being interconnected for coordinated operations.