FEMTO-BASED HOME MACRO SECTOR AND ASSOCIATED SCANNING OPERATION

• US 20100151857A1
• Filed: 12/17/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brisebois, Arthur Richard, De Rosa, Giuseppe
• Granted Patent: US 8,270,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/434
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices

Abstract

System(s) and method(s) are provided to determine a home macro sector linked to a femto access point and adjust inter-carrier scanning in a mobile device that operates in the home macro sector. A femto access point (AP) can determine a home macro sector through cell or sector identifier that is extracted via scan(s) of macro wireless environment of the femto AP. Femto AP can rank extracted sector identifier(s) and establish home macro sector (HMS) identifier(s), and also can generate scanning requirements for idle-mode scan(s) by mobile device(s) that operates in a HMS. Scanning requirement(s) can force periodic inter-carrier measurements of a HMS wireless environment, and establish HMS-specific radio link quality threshold(s). Wireless network can receive at least one of HMS identifier(s) and scanning requirement(s) and deliver same to mobile device(s) authorized to exploit wireless coverage through femto AP associated with the HMS ID(s) and the scanning requirement(s).

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving an indication to identify a home macro sector (HMS);

identifying a HMS in accordance with the received indication; and

when an indication is received to generate scanning requirements, generating at least a portion of a set of scanning requirements for mobile device scan behavior associated with operation in idle mode within the HMS, wherein the scanning requirements force periodic inter-carrier measurements of the HMS wireless environment.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising conveying a HMS identifier intended for each terminal associated with a respective unique device identifier retained in an access list for femto coverage.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising conveying at least the generated portion of the set of scanning requirements for mobile device scan behavior associated with operation in idle mode within the HMS, wherein operation in idle-mode within the HMS occurs in a mixed femto/macro wireless environment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the HMS identifier intended for each terminal associated with a respective unique device identifier retained in an access list for femto coverage or the generated portion of the set of scanning requirements are conveyed when a mobile device is added to the access list for femto coverage.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the HMS identifier intended for each terminal associated with a respective unique device identifier retained in an access list for femto coverage or the generated portion of the set of scanning requirements are conveyed when identifying a HMS in accordance with the received indication establishes at least one of a new HMS or a disparate HMS.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a report associated with communication of at least one of the HMS identifier or the portion of the set of scanning requirements for mobile device scan behavior associated with operation in idle mode within the HMS; and

generating a response to the received report.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a HMS in accordance with the received indication includes:

scanning a macro wireless environment and ranking a set of identified macro sectors; and

selecting a set of ranked macro sectors as a set of home macro sectors and extracting respective home macro sector identifiers associated therewith.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein ranking the set of identified macro sectors is based at least on ranking criteria that includes at least in part radio technology, utilized carrier frequencies, or signal strength and quality.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising linking the extracted HMS identifier with each unique device identifier retained in an access list for femto coverage.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication to identify the HMS includes a schedule that establishes a set of instances in which a HMS is to be identified.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanning requirements include a set of radio link quality thresholds that are different from radio quality thresholds employed in non-home macro sectors.

12. A system, comprising:

a component that configures a home access point (HAP) in scan mode;

a scanner component that surveys a macro wireless environment in the vicinity of the HAP and identifies a set of macro sectors;

a component that identifies a home macro sector (HMS) within the identified set of macro sectors; and

a component that generates a set of scanning requirements in idle-mode operation for a mobile device that operates within the identified HMS, when an indication to generate scanning requirements is received.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a communication platform that receives an indication to configure the HAP in scan mode.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the indication includes at least one of a schedule or an event-based scan request, the at least one of the schedule or the event-based scan request facilitates reassessment of the macro wireless environment of the HAP upon macro network deployment modifications, which include at least one of addition of sector(s), deployment of radio technologies, or utilization of new frequency carriers communication.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the set of scanning requirements includes at least one of an indication to conduct periodic inter-carrier measurements of the HMS wireless environment, or a set of radio link quality thresholds different from radio quality thresholds employed in non-home macro sectors.

16. The system of claim 12, the component that configures the HAP in scan mode includes an association component that links a HMS identifier with each mobile device unique identifier included in an access list to authorize femto coverage

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the component that identifies the HMS within the identified set of macro sectors includes a ranking component that orders the identified set of macro sectors and facilitates selection of one or more top-ranked identified macro sectors as the HMS.

18. The system of claim 16, further including a communication platform that conveys at least one of a HMS identifier associated with the identified HMS or the generated set of scanning requirements.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein at least one of the HMS identifier associated with the identified HMS or the generated set of scanning requirements are conveyed when a mobile device is added to the access list to authorize femto coverage.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein at least one of the HMS identifier associated with the identified HMS or the generated set of scanning requirements are conveyed when the component that identifies the HMS within the identified set of macro sectors establishes at least one of a new HMS or a disparate HMS.

21. The system of claim 19, when one or more mobile devices are removed from the access list to authorize femto coverage, the component that configures the HAP in scan mode delivers an indication to the one or more mobile devices that are removed to delete at least one of a HMS identifier or scanning requirements stored within respective memory elements in the one or more mobile devices no longer retained in the access list to authorize femto coverage.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the communication platform receives a report associated with communication of at least one of the HMS identifier or the portion of the set of scanning requirements for mobile device scanning behavior associated with operation in idle mode within the HMS

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the component that configures the HAP in scan mode generates a response to the received report, the response includes at least one of bar access to the HAP of a mobile device that fails to receive at least one of the HMS identifier or the portion of the set of scanning requirements, or request a delivery retry cycle.

24. A system that administers home macro sector indicators or scanning requirements for idle-mode operation of a mobile device, the system comprising:

a component that supplies an indication to scan a macro wireless environment and identify a home macro sector (HMS);

one or more access nodes that convey the indication to scan the macro wireless environment and identify the HMS, and receive at least one of a HMS identifier or a set of scanning requirement(s).

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the indication is a schedule that provides a set of instances to scan the macro wireless environment, the schedule is generated based at least in part on network intelligence.

26. The system of claim 24, further comprising a component that supplies an indication to not generate a set of scanning requirements.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the set of scanning requirements include at least one of a period of scans of the macro wireless environment, or a set of radio link quality thresholds that are different from radio quality thresholds employed in non-home macro sectors.