SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CELL SEARCH AND SELECTION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20100029274A1
• Filed: 07/29/2009
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Gholmieh, Aziz, Agashe, Parag A., Deshpande, Manoj M., Nanda, Sanjiv, Balasubramanian, Srinivasan, Tenny, Nathan E., Prakash, Rajat, Yavuz, Mehmet, Chen, Jen Mei, Pica, Francesco, Horn, Gavin B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,588,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/435.300
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/0093 Neighbour cell search
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/20 Selecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems and methodologies are described herein that facilitate improved cell search and selection in a wireless communication system. For example, a terminal as described herein can utilize one or more Closed Subscriber Group (CSG)-specific offset and/or hysteresis parameters as described herein to increase the amount of time on which the terminal is allowed to camp on a desirable cell. Additionally, specialized reselection timing can be employed as described herein to increase a delay associated with selecting a Home Node B (HNB) or Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cell, thereby reducing power consumption associated with rapid cell reselection operations in a densely populated network environment. Further, a two-step reselection process can be performed as described herein in the context of selecting a frequency for cell reselection, thereby mitigating the effects of rapid reselection between cells and/or frequencies due to CSG cell prioritization.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

identifying a ranking criterion associated with selection of a cell in a wireless communication system;

determining whether the cell is known to belong to an associated Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) whitelist; and

selecting at least one of an offset or a hysteresis parameter to be applied to the ranking criterion based at least in part on a result of the determining.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cell is a candidate cell for reselection in an idle mode.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining comprises:

determining whether the candidate cell is a Home Node B (HNB) or a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB); and

determining that the candidate cell is not known to belong to the associated CSG whitelist upon determining that the candidate cell is not a HNB or a HeNB.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

receiving a set of identifier values reserved for CSG cells;

attempting to match an identifier value corresponding to the cell to an identifier value in the set of identifier values; and

upon successful matching of the identifier value corresponding to the cell to an identifier value in the set of identifier values, determining whether the cell is known to belong to the associated CSG whitelist at least in part by reading a CSG identifier (ID) of the cell.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises:

obtaining a fingerprint signal pattern corresponding to a current location;

determining whether the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more cells belonging to the associated CSG whitelist; and

upon determining that the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more cells belonging to the associated CSG whitelist, reading CSG IDs of respective cells within a predefined range and determining whether the respective cells are known to belong to the associated CSG whitelist based at least in part on the respective CSG IDs.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the cell is a currently camped cell.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting a positive ranking offset or hysteresis parameter upon determining that the cell is known to belong to the associated CSG whitelist, thereby increasing a distance from the cell at which reselection to the cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the cell to a disparate cell occurs.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting a negative ranking offset or hysteresis parameter upon determining that the cell is not known to belong to the associated CSG whitelist, thereby decreasing a distance from the cell at which reselection to the cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the cell to a disparate cell occurs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises:

determining whether one or more CSG-specific offsets are available;

selecting a CSG-specific offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are available; and

selecting a system-wide offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are not available.

44. The method of claim 38, wherein the configuring reselection further comprises configuring reselection to the cell to occur before expiration of the first reselection timer or after expiration of the first reselection timer and before expiration of the second reselection timer upon determining that the observed signal quality of the currently camped cell has fallen below a predetermined level.

10. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores data relating to a network cell, a ranking metric associated with selection of the network cell, and a list of allowed Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) cells; and

a processor configured to select at least one of an offset or a hysteresis parameter to be applied to the ranking metric associated with selection of the network cell based at least in part on a result of a determination of whether the network cell is known to belong to the list of allowed CSG cells.

11. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the network cell is a candidate cell for reselection in an idle mode.

12. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the network cell is a Home Node B (HNB) or a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) and to determine that the candidate cell is not known to belong to the list of allowed CSG cells upon determining that the candidate cell is not a HNB or a HeNB.

13. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to identifier values reserved for respective CSG cells; and

the processor is further configured to attempt matching of an identifier value corresponding to the network cell to an identifier value reserved for a CSG cell stored by the memory and, upon a successful attempt, to determine whether the network cell is known to belong to the list of allowed CSG cells at least in part by reading a CSG identifier (ID) of the network cell.

14. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain a fingerprint signal pattern corresponding to a current location, to determine whether the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more allowed CSG cells within a predefined range of the current location, and, upon determining that the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more allowed CSG cells within a predefined range of the current location, to determine whether the network cell is known to belong to the list of allowed CSG cells at least in part by reading a CSG identifier (ID) of the network cell.

15. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the cell is a currently camped cell.

16. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to select a positive ranking offset or hysteresis parameter upon determining that the network cell is known to belong to the list of allowed CSG cells, thereby increasing a distance from the network cell at which reselection to the network cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the network cell to a disparate cell occurs.

17. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to select a negative ranking offset or hysteresis parameter upon determining that the network cell is not known to belong to the list of allowed CSG cells, thereby decreasing a distance from the network cell at which reselection to the network cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the network cell to a disparate cell occurs.

18. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether one or more CSG-specific offsets are available and to select a CSG-specific offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are available or a system-wide offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are not available.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

means for identifying a ranking parameter associated with selection of a network cell; and

means for selecting an offset or hysteresis parameter to apply to the ranking parameter for a given network cell based at least in part on a determination of Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) whitelist membership of the given network cell.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for selecting comprises:

means for determining whether the given network cell is a Home Node B (HNB) cell or a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cell; and

means for determining that the given network cell is not known to belong to an associated CSG whitelist upon determining that the given network cell is not a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for selecting comprises:

means for receiving a set of identifier values reserved for respective CSG cells;

means for attempting to match an identifier value corresponding to the given network cell to an identifier value in the set of identifier values; and

means for determining whether the given network cell is known to belong to an associated CSG whitelist upon successful matching of the identifier value corresponding to the given network cell to an identifier value in the set of identifier values at least in part by reading a CSG identifier of the given network cell.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for selecting comprises:

means for obtaining a fingerprint signal pattern corresponding to a current location;

means for determining whether the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more network cells belonging to an associated CSG whitelist within a predefined range; and

means for determining whether respective cells within the predefined range are known to belong to the associated CSG whitelist at least in part by reading CSG identifiers of the respective cells upon determining that the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more cells belonging to the associated CSG whitelist.

23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for selecting comprises means for selecting a positive ranking offset or hysteresis parameter for a given network cell with known CSG whitelist membership, thereby increasing a distance from the network cell at which reselection to the network cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the network cell to a disparate cell occurs.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for selecting comprises means for selecting a negative ranking offset or hysteresis parameter for a given network cell not known to have CSG whitelist membership, thereby decreasing a distance from the network cell at which reselection to the network cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the network cell to a disparate cell occurs.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for selecting comprises:

means for determining whether one or more CSG-specific offsets are available;

means for selecting a CSG-specific offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are available; and

means for selecting a system-wide offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are not available.

26. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium, comprising;

code for causing a computer to identify a ranking criterion associated with selection of a cell in a wireless communication system; and

code for causing a computer to select an offset or hysteresis parameter to apply to the ranking criterion associated with selection of the cell based at least in part on a determination of Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) whitelist membership of the cell.

27. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises:

code for causing a computer to determine whether the cell is a Home Node B (HNB) cell or a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cell; and

code for causing a computer to determine that the cell is not known to belong to an associated CSG whitelist upon determining that the cell is not a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

28. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises:

code for causing a computer to identify a set of identifier values reserved for respective CSG cells;

code for causing a computer to attempt matching of an identifier value for the cell to an identifier value in the set of identifier values; and

code for causing a computer, upon successful matching of the identifier value for the cell to an identifier value in the set of identifier values, to determine whether the cell is known to belong to an associated CSG whitelist upon at least in part by reading a CSG identifier of the cell.

29. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises:

code for causing a computer to obtain a fingerprint signal pattern corresponding to a current location;

code for causing a computer to determine whether the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more network cells belonging to an associated CSG whitelist within a predefined range; and

code for causing a computer, upon determining that the fingerprint signal pattern indicates one or more cells belonging to the associated CSG whitelist within the predefined range, to determine whether the respective cells are known to belong to the associated CSG whitelist at least in part by reading CSG identifiers of the respective cells.

30. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises code for causing a computer to select a positive ranking offset or hysteresis parameter for a cell with known CSG whitelist membership, thereby increasing a distance from the cell at which reselection to the cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the cell to a disparate cell occurs.

31. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises code for causing a computer to select a negative ranking offset or hysteresis parameter for a cell not known to have CSG whitelist membership, thereby decreasing a distance from the cell at which reselection to the cell from a disparate cell or reselection from the cell to a disparate cell occurs.

32. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises:

code for causing a computer to determine whether one or more CSG-specific offsets are available; and

code for causing a computer to select a CSG-specific offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are available or a system-wide offset upon determining that one or more CSG-specific offsets are not available.

33. A method, comprising:

initializing a first reselection timer and a second reselection timer, wherein the first reselection timer is configured to expire prior to the second reselection timer;

identifying a cell for which a reselection procedure is to be conducted;

determining whether the cell is a Home Node B (HNB) cell or a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cell; and

configuring reselection to the cell to occur upon expiration of the first reselection timer or upon expiration of the second reselection timer based at least in part on a result of the determining.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the configuring reselection comprises configuring reselection to the cell to occur upon expiration of the first reselection timer upon determining that the cell is not a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the configuring reselection comprises configuring reselection to the cell to occur upon expiration of the second reselection timer upon determining that the cell is a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

36. The method of claim 33, wherein the configuring reselection comprises configuring reselection to the cell to occur after expiration of the first reselection timer and before expiration of the second reselection timer upon determining that the cell is a HNB cell or a HeNB cell that is known to be in an associated Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) whitelist.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the configuring reselection comprises configuring reselection to the cell to occur after expiration of the first reselection timer and before expiration of the second reselection timer or upon expiration of the second reselection timer based on desirability of the cell as determined based on services provided by the cell.

38. The method of claim 33, wherein the configuring reselection comprises configuring a time at which reselection to the cell is to occur based on at least one of observed signal quality of the cell or observed signal quality of a currently camped cell.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the configuring reselection further comprises:

evaluating signal strength of respective pilots associated with the cell; and

computing a relative signal quality of the respective pilots based on the evaluated signal strength.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the computing comprises computing a relative signal quality of the respective pilots as a ratio of the evaluated signal strength of the respective pilots to a total observed signal strength.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the evaluating comprises collecting N signal strength samples from respective pilots, wherein N is an integer.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein:

the computing further comprises averaging sampled signal strength from the N signal strength samples to obtain an average signal quality; and

the configuring further comprises configuring reselection to the cell to occur after expiration of the first reselection timer and before expiration of the second reselection timer or upon expiration of the second reselection timer as a function of the average signal quality.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the configuring reselection further comprises configuring reselection to the cell to occur after expiration of the first reselection timer and before expiration of the second reselection timer upon determining that at least M signal strength samples in the N signal strength samples are above a predefined reselection threshold, wherein M is an integer less than or equal to N.

45. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores data relating to a network cell for which reselection is to be conducted; and

a processor configured to configure a first reselection delay and a second reselection delay such that the first reselection delay is shorter than the second reselection delay, to determine whether the network cell for which reselection is to be conducted is a Home Node B (HNB) or a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB), and to configure reselection to the network cell to occur at the first reselection delay or the second reselection delay based at least in part on whether the network cell is a HNB or a HeNB.

46. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the processor is further configured to configure reselection to the network cell to occur at the first reselection delay upon determining that the cell is not a HNB or a HeNB or to configure reselection to the network cell to occur at the second reselection delay upon determining that the cell is a HNB or a HeNB.

47. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) whitelist; and

the processor is further configured to configure reselection to the network cell to occur after the first reselection delay and before the second reselection delay upon determining that the network cell is a HNB or a HeNB that is known to be in the CSG whitelist.

48. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the processor is further configured to configure a time at which reselection to the network cell is to occur based on at least one of observed signal quality of the network cell or observed signal quality of a currently camped cell.

49. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 48, wherein the processor is further configured to evaluate signal strength of respective pilots associated with the network cell and to compute a relative signal quality of the respective pilots based on the evaluated signal strength.

50. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 49, wherein the processor is further configured to compute a relative signal quality of the respective pilots as a ratio of the evaluated signal strength of the respective pilots to a total observed signal strength.

51. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 49, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to an integer N and an integer M, wherein M is less than N; and

the processor is further configured to collect N samples of signal strength from respective pilots and to configure reselection to the network cell to occur after expiration of the first reselection delay and before expiration of the second reselection delay or upon expiration of the second reselection delay either as a function of an average signal quality computed from the N samples or upon determining that at least M samples in the N samples are above a predefined reselection threshold.

52. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 48, wherein the processor is further configured to configure reselection to the network cell to occur before expiration of the first reselection delay or after expiration of the first reselection delay and before expiration of the second reselection delay upon determining that the observed signal quality of the currently camped cell has deteriorated below a predetermined level.

53. An apparatus, comprising:

means for initializing a first cell selection timer and a second cell selection timer such that the first cell selection timer is configured to expire before the second cell selection timer;

means for identifying a network cell for which reselection is to be conducted; and

means for conducting reselection to the network cell upon expiration of the first cell selection timer or the second cell selection timer based at least in part on whether the network cell is a Home Node B (HNB) or Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cell.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the means for conducting reselection comprises one or more of the following:

means for conducting reselection to the network cell upon expiration of the first cell selection timer upon determining that the network cell is not a HNB or HeNB cell;

or

means for conducting reselection to the network cell upon expiration of the second cell selection timer upon determining that the network cell is a HNB or HeNB cell.

55. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the means for conducting reselection comprises:

means for selecting a time at which reselection to the network cell is conducted from a time after expiration of the first cell selection timer and before expiration of the second cell selection timer or expiration of the second cell selection timer based on at least one of Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) whitelist membership of the network cell, or desirability of the network cell as determined based on services provided by the network cell; and

means for conducting reselection to the network cell at the selected time.

56. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the means for conducting reselection comprises:

means for selecting a time at which reselection to the network cell is conducted based on at least one of signal strength of the network cell or signal strength of a currently camped cell; and

means for conducting reselection to the network cell at the selected time.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the means for selecting comprises:

means for evaluating signal strength of respective pilots associated with the network cell; and

means for computing a relative signal quality of the respective pilots based on the evaluated signal strength.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein:

the means for evaluating comprises means for obtaining N signal strength samples from respective pilots for a given integer N; and

the means for selecting comprises means for selecting a time at which reselection to the network cell is conducted either as a function of an average signal quality computed from the N signal strength samples or upon determining that at least M signal strength samples in the N signal strength samples have sampled signal strengths above a predefined reselection threshold for a given integer M that is less than or equal to N.

59. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the means for selecting comprises means for configuring reselection to the network cell to occur before expiration of the first cell selection timer or after expiration of the first cell selection timer and before expiration of the second cell selection timer upon determining that the observed signal quality of the currently camped cell has degraded below a predetermined level.

60. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium, comprising;

code for causing a computer to initialize a first cell selection timer and a second cell selection timer such that the first cell selection timer is configured to expire before the second cell selection timer;

code for causing a computer to identify a cell in a wireless communication system for which reselection is to be conducted; and

code for causing a computer to conduct reselection to the cell upon expiration of the first cell selection timer or the second cell selection timer based at least in part on whether the cell is a Home Node B (HNB) cell or a Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cell.

61. The computer program product of claim 60, wherein the code for causing a computer to conduct reselection comprises code for causing a computer to conduct reselection to the cell after expiration of the first cell selection timer upon determining that the cell is not a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

62. The computer program product of claim 60, wherein the code for causing a computer to conduct reselection comprises code for causing a computer to conduct reselection to the cell after expiration of the second cell selection timer upon determining that the cell is a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

63. The computer program product of claim 60, wherein the code for causing a computer to conduct reselection comprises:

code for causing a computer to select a time at which reselection to the cell is conducted based on at least one of signal strength of the cell or signal strength of a currently camped cell; and

code for causing a computer to conduct reselection to the cell at the selected time.

64. The computer program product of claim 63, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises:

code for causing computer to evaluate signal strength of respective pilots associated with the cell; and

code for causing computer to compute a relative signal quality of the respective pilots based on the evaluated signal strength.

65. The computer program product of claim 64, wherein:

the code for causing computer to evaluate comprises code for causing computer to obtain N samples of signal strength from respective pilots for a given integer N; and

the code for causing computer to select comprises code for causing computer to select a time at which reselection to the cell is conducted either as a function of an average signal quality computed from the N samples or upon determining that at least M samples in the N samples are above a predefined reselection threshold for a given integer M that is less than or equal to N.

66. The computer program product of claim 64, wherein the code for causing a computer to select comprises code for causing a computer to configure reselection to the cell to occur before expiration of the first cell selection timer or after expiration of the first cell selection timer and before expiration of the second cell selection timer upon determining that the observed signal quality of the currently camped cell has degraded below a predetermined level.

67. A method, comprising:

identifying a candidate frequency for cell reselection within a wireless communication system;

identifying a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) cell on the candidate frequency that is deemed desirable based on at least one of provided services or CSG whitelist membership; and

camping on the identified CSG cell on the candidate frequency upon determining that the identified CSG cell is a highest ranked cell on the candidate frequency.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the identifying a candidate frequency comprises identifying a frequency on which an observed signal strength from the identified CSG cell exceeds a predefined threshold.

69. The method of claim 67, further comprising remaining on a current camped cell and a current frequency upon determining that the identified CSG cell is not the highest ranked cell on the candidate frequency.

70. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores data relating to a candidate frequency for reselection and a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) whitelist; and

a processor configured to identify a CSG cell on the candidate frequency that is deemed desirable based on at least one of services provided by the CSG cell or membership of the CSG cell in the CSG whitelist, to identify a highest ranked cell on the candidate frequency, and to initiate camping on the CSG cell on the candidate frequency upon determining that the CSG cell is the highest ranked cell on the candidate frequency.

71. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 70, wherein the processor is further configured to identify the candidate frequency as a frequency on which an observed signal strength from the CSG cell exceeds a predefined threshold.

72. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 70, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to a selected frequency and a camped cell; and

the processor is further configured to remain on the selected frequency and the camped cell upon determining that the CSG cell is not the highest ranked cell on the candidate frequency.

73. An apparatus, comprising:

means for identifying a candidate frequency for cell reselection;

means for identifying a desirable Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) cell on the candidate frequency; and

means for camping on the desirable CSG cell on the candidate frequency upon determining that the desirable CSG cell is a highest ranked cell on the candidate frequency.

74. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the means for identifying a desirable CSG cell comprises means for identifying a CSG cell that is deemed desirable based on at least one of provided services or CSG whitelist membership.

75. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the means for identifying a candidate frequency comprises means for identifying a frequency on which an observed signal strength from the desirable CSG cell exceeds a predefined threshold.

76. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium, comprising;

code for causing a computer to identify a frequency associated with a cell reselection operation;

code for causing a computer to identify a desirable Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) cell on the identified frequency; and

code for causing a computer to camp on the desirable CSG cell on the identified frequency upon determining that the desirable CSG cell is a highest ranked cell on the identified frequency.

77. The computer program product of claim 76, wherein the code for causing a computer to identify a desirable CSG cell comprises code for causing a computer to identify a CSG cell that is deemed desirable based on at least one of services provided by the CSG cell or CSG whitelist membership of the CSG cell.

78. The computer program product of claim 76, wherein the code for causing a computer to identify a frequency comprises code for causing a computer to identify a frequency on which an observed signal strength from the desirable CSG cell exceeds a predefined threshold.

79. A method, comprising:

providing a first set of parameters to a first set of one or more users, wherein the first set of parameters modify ranking formulas utilized by the first set of one or more users for cell reselection based on Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) membership; and

providing a second set of parameters to a second set of one or more users, wherein the second set of parameters modify a reselection delay employed by the second set of one or more users with respect to selection of respective Home Node B (HNB) cells or Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cells.

80. The method of claim 79, wherein the first set of one or more users and the second set of one or more users are at least partially non-overlapping.

81. The method of claim 79, wherein the first set of one or more users and the second set of one or more users are substantially equivalent.

82. The method of claim 79, wherein the providing a first set of parameters comprises providing the first set of parameters to the first set of one or more users in at least one of unicast transmissions, multicast transmissions, or broadcast transmissions to respective users in the first set of one or more users.

83. The method of claim 79, wherein the providing a second set of parameters comprises providing the second set of parameters to the second set of one or more users in at least one of unicast transmissions, multicast transmissions, or broadcast transmissions to respective users in the second set of one or more users.

84. The method of claim 79, wherein the first set of parameters comprises at least one of CSG-specific offset values that modify ranking formulas associated with reselection to a CSG cell or CSG-specific hysteresis values that modify ranking formulas associated with reselection from a CSG cell.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the CSG offset values comprise a first set of CSG offset values that facilitate an increase in distance from a CSG cell known to be in a user whitelist at which reselection occurs and a second set of CSG offset values that facilitate a decrease in distance from a CSG cell not known to be in a user whitelist at which reselection occurs.

86. The method of claim 79, wherein the second set of parameters comprises a first reselection timer associated with reselection to a cell determined not to be a HNB cell or a HeNB cell and a second reselection timer associated with reselection to a cell determined to be a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

87. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores data relating to a first set of parameters that modify ranking criteria for cell reselection based on Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) membership and a second set of parameters that modify a reselection delay employed with respect to selection of respective Home Node B (HNB) cells or Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cells; and

a processor configured to convey the first set of parameters to a first set of one or more users and to convey the second set of parameters to a second set of one or more users.

88. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 87, wherein the first set of one or more users and the second set of one or more users are at least partially non-overlapping.

89. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 87, wherein the first set of one or more users and the second set of one or more users are substantially equivalent.

90. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 87, wherein the processor is further configured to convey the first set of parameters or the second set of parameters in at least one of a unicast transmission, a multicast transmission, or a broadcast transmission.

91. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 87, wherein the first set of parameters comprises at least one of CSG-specific offset values that modify ranking criteria associated with reselection to a CSG cell or CSG-specific hysteresis values that modify ranking criteria associated with reselection from a CSG cell.

92. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 91, wherein the CSG offset values comprise a first set of CSG offset values that facilitate an increase in distance from a CSG cell known to be in a user whitelist at which reselection occurs and a second set of CSG offset values that facilitate a decrease in distance from a CSG cell not known to be in a user whitelist at which reselection occurs.

93. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 87, wherein the second set of parameters comprises a first reselection delay associated with reselection to a cell determined not to be a HNB cell or a HeNB cell and a second reselection delay associated with reselection to a cell determined to be a HNB cell or a HeNB cell.

94. An apparatus, comprising:

means for indicating a first set of parameters that offset ranking criteria employed for cell selection based on Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) membership; and

means for indicating a second set of parameters that control a reselection delay employed with respect to selection of respective Home Node B (HNB) or Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cells.

95. The apparatus of claim 94, wherein the means for indicating a first set of parameters comprises means for transmitting the first set of parameters in at least one of a unicast transmission, a multicast transmission, or a broadcast transmission.

96. The apparatus of claim 94, wherein the means for indicating a second set of parameters comprises means for transmitting the second set of parameters in at least one of a unicast transmission, a multicast transmission, or a broadcast transmission.

97. The apparatus of claim 94, wherein the first set of parameters comprises at least one of an offset value that modifies ranking criteria associated with reselection to a CSG cell based on CSG whitelist membership or a hysteresis value that modifies ranking criteria associated with reselection from a CSG cell.

98. The apparatus of claim 94, wherein the second set of parameters comprises a first cell selection timer associated with reselection to a cell determined not to be a HNB or HeNB cell and a second cell selection timer associated with reselection to a cell determined to be a HNB or HeNB cell.

99. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium, comprising;

code for causing a computer to communicate a first set of parameters that offset ranking criteria employed for cell selection based on Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) membership; and

code for causing a computer to communicate a second set of parameters that control timing associated with selection of respective Home Node B (HNB) or Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) cells.

100. The computer program product of claim 99, wherein the code for causing a computer to communicate a first set of parameters comprises code for causing a computer to communicate the first set of parameters in at least one of a unicast transmission, a multicast transmission, or a broadcast transmission.

101. The computer program product of claim 99, wherein the code for causing a computer to communicate a second set of parameters comprises code for causing a computer to communicate the second set of parameters in at least one of a unicast transmission, a multicast transmission, or a broadcast transmission.

102. The computer program product of claim 99, wherein the first set of parameters comprises at least one of an offset value that modifies ranking criteria associated with reselection to a CSG cell based on CSG whitelist membership or a hysteresis value that modifies ranking criteria associated with reselection from a CSG cell.

103. The computer program product of claim 99, wherein the second set of parameters comprises a first cell selection timer that controls timing of reselection to a cell determined not to be a HNB or HeNB cell and a second cell selection timer that controls timing of reselection to a cell determined to be a HNB or HeNB cell.