SIMPLE DISTRIBUTED COODINATION AMONG CELLS TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENT DYNAMIC SINGLE-FREQUENCY NETWORK (SFN) OPERATION

• US 20110021224A1
• Filed: 10/01/2008
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Shu, Kodo, Huang, Liping, Pekonen, Johanna Katariina, Chen, Hongyuan, Martos-Riano, Demian, Koskinen, Henri Markus
• Granted Patent: US 8,532,683 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/507
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services

Abstract

A system and method for controlling base stations for multimedia broadcast communications. In one embodiment, a base station 730 includes a reporting subsystem 740 configured to broadcast at least one of a counting report request and a channel quality indictor report request to user equipment 780 in a service area thereof. The reporting subsystem 740 is also configured to process at least one of a counting report and a channel quality indicator report received from the user equipment 780 and provide an activity status report therefrom. The base station 730 also includes a dynamic single frequency network subsystem 745 configured to determine to provide multimedia broadcast and multicast services in the service area thereof as a function of an activity status report from another base station 760.

Claims

1. A base station, comprising:

a reporting subsystem configured to broadcast at least one of a counting report request and a channel quality indictor report request to user equipment in a service area thereof, said reporting subsystem being configured to process at least one of a counting report and a channel quality indicator report received from said user equipment and provide an activity status report therefrom; and

a dynamic single frequency network subsystem configured to determine to provide multimedia broadcast and multicast services in said service area thereof as a function of an activity status report from another base station.

2. The base station as recited in claim 1 wherein said dynamic single frequency network subsystem is configured to provide said multimedia broadcast and multicast services as a function of an operational status thereof in said service area.

41. The base station as recited in claim 1 wherein said base station is configured to poll said another base station with an activity status report request message to obtain said activity status report therefrom.

42. The base station as recited in claim 1 wherein said reporting subsystem is configured to provide a polling request to said user equipment in accordance with said at least one of said counting report request and said channel quality indictor report request.

43. The base station as recited in claim 1 wherein said dynamic single frequency network subsystem is configured to determine to provide said multimedia broadcast and multicast services in said service area thereof as a function of an activity status report from a plurality of base stations.

44. The base station as recited in claim 1 wherein said channel quality indicator report provides an indication of a channel quality for said user equipment in relation to a lower bound channel quality indictor for a communication system employing said base station.

45. The base station as recited in claim 44 wherein said lower bound channel quality indicator is derived from a user equipment minimum signal-to-interference and noise ratio target plus a margin.

46. The base station as recited in claim 1 wherein said dynamic single frequency network subsystem is configured to determine to employ resources of said base station for unicast communications.

3-40. -40. (canceled)

47. A method of operating a communication system, comprising:

broadcasting a counting report request and a channel quality indictor report request to user equipment in a service area thereof;

processing a counting report and a channel quality indicator report received from said user equipment and providing an activity status report therefrom;

calculating a static contribution table; and

determining to employ said base station for multimedia broadcast and multicast services in said service area thereof as a function of said static contribution table and said activity status report.

48. The method as recited in claim 47 further comprising providing said multimedia broadcast and multicast services in said service area thereof in accordance with said determining.

49. The method as recited in claim 47 further comprising providing a polling request to said user equipment in accordance with said counting report request and said channel quality indictor report request.

50. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said channel quality indicator report provides an indication of a channel quality for said user equipment in relation to a lower bound channel quality indictor for said communication system.

51. The method as recited in claim 47 wherein said determining comprises determining to employ resources of said base station for unicast communications.

52. The method as recited in claim 47, further comprising:

broadcasting another counting report request and another channel quality indictor report request to another user equipment in another service area thereof;

processing another counting report and another channel quality indicator report received from said another user equipment and providing another activity status report therefrom; and

determining to employ said another base station for another multimedia broadcast and multicast services in said another service area thereof as a function of said static contribution table and said another activity status report.

53. A computer program product comprising program code stored in a computer readable medium configured to broadcast at least one of a counting report request and a channel quality indictor report request to user equipment in a service area thereof, process at least one of a counting report and a channel quality indicator report received from said user equipment and provide an activity status report therefrom, and determine to provide multimedia broadcast and multicast services in said service area thereof as a function of an activity status report from another base station.

54. The computer program product as recited in claim 53 wherein said program code stored in said computer readable medium is configured to determine to provide said multimedia broadcast and multicast services as a function of an operational status thereof in said service area.

55. A method of operating a base station, comprising:

broadcasting at least one of a counting report request and a channel quality indictor report request to user equipment in a service area thereof;

processing at least one of a counting report and a channel quality indicator report received from said user equipment and providing an activity status report therefrom; and

determining to provide multimedia broadcast and multicast services in said service area thereof as a function of an activity status report from another base station.

56. The method as recited in claim 55 wherein said determining comprises determining to provide said multimedia broadcast and multicast services as a function of an operational status thereof in said service area.

57. The method as recited in claim 55 further comprising polling said another base station with an activity status report request message to obtain said activity status report therefrom.

58. The method as recited in claim 55 wherein said channel quality indicator report provides an indication of a channel quality for said user equipment in relation to a lower bound channel quality indictor for a communication system employing said base station.

59. The method as recited in claim 55 wherein said determining comprises determining to employ resources of said base station for unicast communications.