Spectrum yield management in a wireless communication system

• US 6,275,695 B1
• Filed: 10/08/1998
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Obhan, Prem A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US09/169,022
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 455/453, 455/403, 455/512, 455/405, 455/408, 455/422, 455/466, 455/446, 379/243, 379/120
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/086 using security domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/04 Traffic adaptive resource partitioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/26 Resource reservation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria

Abstract

A spectrum yield management (SYM) system manages available spectrum within a wireless communication system. The SYM system includes at least one computer and connections within the wireless communication system to other components of the wireless communication system. The SYM system collects real-time and potential loading information for the wireless communication system and receives system operator parameters. The SYM system may support a plurality of classes with each class having subscriber members that receives services commensurate with the class. The SYM system may also support a plurality of corridors within the wireless communication system, with each corridor including at least once cell/sector. The SYM system provides signals to the components of the wireless communication and to subscriber units to influence their operation in a manner that will realize system operator goals with respect to spectrum usage. Examples of such signals include service option signals which provide either an incentive for a subscriber to increase its use or a disincentive for the subscriber to reduce its use. The SYM system may also operate to provide reserved spectrum within the wireless communication system and to perform other functions in managing available spectrum.

Claims

1. In a wireless communication system that supports wireless communications throughout a service coverage area for a plurality of subscribers, a method for operating the wireless communication system comprising:

segregating the service coverage area into a plurality of corridors, wherein each of the plurality of corridors includes a plurality of cells/sectors that have similar loading patterns and that form a contiguous portion of the service coverage area;

determining subscriber load within at least some of the plurality of corridors;

determining a loading threshold within at least some of the plurality of corridors;

for a corridor in which subscriber load is determined, determining whether a respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to a respective loading threshold;

if the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold in the corridor, altering subscriber accessibility in the corridor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is less than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays an offer to complete a call at a reduced rate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is less than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays an offer to complete a call without cost.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is less than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays an offer to continue a call at a reduced rate.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is greater than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays notification of an increased rate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is greater than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays notification of interruption of service.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is greater than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, calls are blocked for some of the subscribers operating in the corridor.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber load within the plurality of corridors is determined based upon actual loading within the corridor.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber load within a corridor is determined based upon potential loading within the corridor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

subscriber load is determined within a first corridor of the plurality of corridors based upon actual loading within the first corridor; and

subscriber load is determined within a second corridor based upon the actual loading in the first corridor.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective loading thresholds vary over time.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the wireless service provided within the service coverage area is provided to a plurality of classes, where each subscriber is a member of at least one class of the plurality of classes; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, subscribers of some classes are given greater accessibility to the corridor than are subscribers of other classes.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein in altering accessibility:

a first type of service option signal relays a first service incentive to subscribers of a first class; and

a second type of service option signal relays a second service incentive to subscribers of a second class.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the first service option signal relays an offer to complete a call at a reduced rate; and

the second service option signal relays an offer to complete a call without cost.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein in altering accessibility, subscribers of some classes are allocated a greater spectrum bandwidth than are subscribers of other classes in the corridor.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein in altering accessibility, subscribers of a voice class are allocated a greater spectrum bandwidth than are subscribers of a data class in the corridor.

17. In a wireless communication system that supports wireless communications throughout a service coverage area for a plurality of subscribers, a method for operating the wireless communication system comprising:

segregating the service coverage area into a plurality of corridors, wherein each of the plurality of corridors includes a plurality of cells/sectors that have similar loading patterns and that form a contiguous portion of the service coverage area;

determining subscriber load within at least some of the plurality of corridors;

determining a loading threshold within at least some of the plurality of corridors;

for a corridor in which subscriber load is determined, determining whether a respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to a respective loading threshold;

if the respective subscriber load compares favorable to the respective loading threshold, delivering at least one short message to subscriber units operating within the corridor.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is greater than the respective loading threshold; and

the at least one short message is delivered to the subscriber units at a later time.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

attempting delivery of the at least one short message for a period of time; and

after the period of time expires, adjusting the loading threshold so that the at least one short message may be delivered to the subscriber units.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the subscriber load within the plurality of corridors is determined based upon actual loading within the corridor.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the subscriber load within the plurality of corridors is determined based upon potential loading within the corridor.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the subscriber load within the plurality of corridors is determined based upon historical loading within the corridor.

23. In a wireless communication system that supports wireless communications throughout a service coverage area for a plurality of subscribers, a method for operating the wireless communication system comprising:

segregating the plurality of subscribers into a plurality of classes;

segregating the service coverage area into a plurality of corridors, wherein each of the plurality of corridors includes a plurality of cells/sectors that have similar loading patterns and that form a contiguous portion of the service coverage area;

determining subscriber load for a corridor of the plurality of corridors;

determining a loading threshold for the corridor;

when the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold in the corridor, altering subscriber accessibility to the wireless communication system in the corridor for subscribers of a class of the plurality of classes.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein altering subscriber accessibility to the wireless communication system in the corridor includes reserving capacity for subscribers of the class.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein altering subscriber accessibility to the wireless communication system in the corridor includes:

queuing a subscriber call for a subscriber of the class when the call cannot be serviced due to the subscriber load; and

when servicing of the call is allowed, completing the call for the subscriber of the class.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein altering subscriber accessibility to the wireless communication system in the corridor includes preventing subscribers of other classes from accessing the wireless communication system.

27. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining subscriber load within each of the plurality of corridors;

determining a loading threshold for the each of the plurality of corridors;

for each of the plurality of corridors, determining whether a respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to a respective loading threshold; and

when the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold in a of the plurality of corridors, altering subscriber accessibility for subscribers of a class of the plurality of classes within the corridor.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein altering subscriber accessibility for subscribers of the class within the corridor includes preventing subscribers of other classes from accessing the wireless communication system within the corridor.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein altering subscriber accessibility for subscribers of the class includes:

queuing a subscriber call for a subscriber of the class when the call cannot be serviced due to the subscriber load; and

when servicing of the call is allowed within the corridor, completing the call for the subscriber of the class.

30. The method of claim 23, wherein, in altering subscriber accessibility within the corridor, subscribers of the class receive service option signals.

31. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is less than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility in the corridor, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers of at least one class that relays an offer to complete a call at a reduced rate.

32. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is less than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility in the corridor, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers of at least one class that relays an offer to complete a call without cost.

33. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is less than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility in the corridor, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers of at least one class that relays an offer to continue a call at a reduced rate.

34. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is greater than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility in the corridor, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers of at least one class that relays notification of an increased rate.

35. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is greater than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility in the corridor, a service incentive signal is relayed to subscribers of at least one class that relays notification of interruption of service.

36. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is greater than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility in the corridor, calls are blocked for at least one class.

37. The method of claim 23, wherein the subscriber load is determined based upon actual loading within the corridor.

38. The method of claim 23, wherein the subscriber load is determined based upon potential loading within the corridor.

39. The method of claim 23, wherein the loading threshold varies over time.

40. A spectrum yield management system for use in conjunction with a wireless communication system that supports wireless communications throughout a service coverage area for a plurality of subscribers, the spectrum management yield system comprising:

a data receiving interface that receives subscriber load information for at least some of a plurality of corridors defined within the service coverage areas, wherein each of the plurality of corridors includes a plurality of cells/sectors that have similar loading patterns and that form a contiguous portion of the service coverage area;

a system operator interface that receives operating goals for the plurality of corridors;

a computing device that couples to the data receiving interface and the system operator interface, that determines loading thresholds within at least some of the plurality of corridors based upon the operating goals, and that determines whether a respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to a respective loading threshold; and

an output interface coupled to the computing device that, if the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold in the corridor, causes subscriber accessibility in the corridor to be altered.

41. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the computing device determines that the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is less than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays an offer to complete a call at a reduced rate.

42. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the computing device determines that the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is less than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays an offer to complete a call without cost.

43. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the computing device determines that the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is less than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays an offer to continue a call at a reduced rate.

44. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the computing device determines that the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is greater than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays notification of an increased rate.

45. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the computing device determines that the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is greater than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers operating in the corridor that relays notification of interruption of service.

46. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the computing device determines that the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is greater than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface causes calls to be blocked for some of the subscribers operating in the corridor.

47. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein the subscriber load within the plurality of corridors is determined based upon actual loading within the corridor.

48. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, further comprising a plurality of access control blocks, each of which indicates accessibility within a respective corridor of the plurality of corridors.

49. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the computing device determines the subscriber load within a first corridor of the plurality of corridors based upon actual loading within the first corridor; and

the computing device determines the subscriber load within a second corridor based upon the actual loading in the first corridor.

50. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein the respective loading thresholds vary over time.

51. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the wireless service provided within the service coverage area is provided to a plurality of classes, where each subscriber is a member of at least one class of the plurality of classes; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, subscribers of some classes are given greater accessibility to the corridor than are subscribers of other classes.

52. The spectrum yield management system of claim 51, wherein in altering accessibility:

a first type of service option signal provided by the output interface relays a first service incentive to subscribers of a first class; and

a second type of service option signal provided by the output interface relays a second service incentive to subscribers of a second class.

53. The spectrum yield management system of claim 51, wherein:

the first service option signal provided by the output interface relays an offer to complete a call at a reduced rate; and

the second service option signal provided by the output interface relays an offer to complete a call without cost.

54. The spectrum yield management system of claim 51, wherein in altering accessibility, subscribers of some classes are allocated a greater spectrum bandwidth than are subscribers of other classes in the corridor.

55. The spectrum yield management system of claim 54, wherein in altering accessibility, subscribers of a voice class are allocated a greater spectrum bandwidth than are subscribers of a data class in the corridor.

56. The spectrum yield management system of claim 40, wherein:

the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold when the respective subscriber load is less than the respective loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to a message service which delivers at least one short message to subscriber units operating within the corridor.

57. A spectrum yield management system for use in conjunction with a wireless communication system that supports wireless communications throughout a service coverage area for a plurality of subscribers, the spectrum management yield system comprising:

a data receiving interface that receives subscriber load information;

a system operator interface that receives operating goals for a plurality of classes operating in the wireless communication system, where each of the plurality of subscribers is a member of at least one of the plurality of classes;

a computing device that couples to the data receiving interface and the system operator interface, that determines a loading threshold based upon the operating goals, and that determines whether the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold; and

an output interface coupled to the computing device that, if the respective subscriber load compares unfavorably to the respective loading threshold, causes subscriber accessibility to be altered for a class.

58. The spectrum yield management system of claim 57, wherein altering subscriber accessibility to the wireless communication system includes reserving capacity for the class.

59. The spectrum yield management system of claim 57, wherein altering subscriber accessibility to the wireless communication system includes:

queuing a subscriber call for a subscriber of the class when the call cannot be serviced due to the subscriber load; and

when servicing of the call is allowed, completing the call for the subscriber of the class.

60. The spectrum yield management system of claim 57, wherein altering subscriber accessibility to the wireless communication system includes preventing subscribers of other classes from accessing the wireless communication system.

61. The spectrum yield management system of claim 57, wherein, in altering subscriber accessibility within the corridor, subscribers of the class receive service option signals.

62. The spectrum yield management system of claim 61, wherein:

the computing device determines that the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is less than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers of the class that relays an offer to complete a call at a reduced rate.

63. The spectrum yield management system of claim 61, wherein:

the computing device determines that the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is less than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers of the class that relays an offer to complete a call without cost.

64. The spectrum yield management system of claim 61, wherein:

the computing device determines that the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is less than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers of the class that relays an offer to continue a call at a reduced rate.

65. The spectrum yield management system of claim 61, wherein:

the computing device determines that the subscriber load compares unfavorably to the loading threshold when the subscriber load is greater than the loading threshold; and

in altering subscriber accessibility, the output interface relays a service incentive signal to subscribers of the class that relays notification of an increased rate.

66. The spectrum yield management system of claim 57, wherein the subscriber load is determined based upon actual loading.

67. The spectrum yield management system of claim 57, wherein the subscriber load is determined based upon potential loading.

68. The spectrum yield management system of claim 57, wherein the loading threshold varies over time.