Dynamic reduction of telephone call congestion

• US 6,324,403 B1
• Filed: 11/05/1998
• Issued: 11/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Jalloul, Amer
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Nguyen T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): APPIAH, CHARLES NANA
• Application Number:
  US09/186,335
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 455/69, 455/67.6, 455/522, 455/453, 455/450, 455/452, 455/422, 455/437, 455/439, 455/70, 370/318, 370/328
• US Class Current: 455/453
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/06 Hybrid resource partitioning, e.g. channel borrowing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/343 taking into account loading or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/50 at the moment of starting communication in a multiple access environment

Abstract

A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and propagated signal, for setting up a call by receiving a value representing a power level for a cell, adjusting the value representing the power level for the cell based on congestion to produce an adjusted value, and setting up the call based on the adjusted value.

Claims

1. A method of setting up a call, comprising the steps of:

receiving a value representing a power level for a cell from a mobile telephone unit;

adjusting the value representing the power level for the cell based on congestion to produce an adjusted value without adjusting an actual output power level; and

setting up the call based on the adjusted value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving and adjusting steps are performed for at least two cells and the setting up step sets the call up on the one of the at least two cells with the largest adjusted value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the adjusting step is performed only for cells of the at least two cells with a congestion value above a first threshold.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein two of the at least two cells are controlled by the same base station.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting step adjusts a priority of the power level for the cell to reduce a number of calls being set up on the cell.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the number of calls being set up on the congested cell is reduced by setting up calls on other surrounding less congested cells.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting step includes applying a fixed adjustment factor to the power level for the cell.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the call is a mobile telephone call.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a base station controller.

8. The method of claimed 7, wherein the adjusting step includes subtracting a fixed value in dB from the power level for the cell.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

once the cell has been corrected, adding the fixed amount in dB only after a congestion value of the cell is below a second threshold, lower than the first threshold.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first threshold and second threshold prevent oscillation.

13. A power level adjuster comprising:

a receiver for receiving a value representing a power level for a cell from a mobile telephone unit; and

a processor for adjusting the value representing the power level of the cell based on congestion to produce an adjusted value without adjusting an actual output power level;

said power level adjuster setting up a call based on the adjusted value.

14. The power level adjuster of claim 13, wherein the receiving and adjusting steps are performed for at least two cells and the setting up step sets the call up on the one of the at least two cells with the largest adjusted value.

15. The power level adjuster of claim 14, wherein the processor adjusts the values only for cells of the at least two cells with a congestion value above a first threshold.

16. The power level adjuster of claim 14, wherein two of the at least two cells are controlled by the same base station.

17. The power level adjuster of claim 13, wherein the processor adjusts a priority of the power level for the cell to reduce a number of calls being set up on the cell.

18. The power level adjuster of claim 17, wherein the number of calls being set up on the congested cell is reduced by setting up calls on other surrounding less congested cells.

19. The power level adjuster of claim 13, wherein the processor performs the adjustment by applying a fixed adjustment factor to the power level for the cell.

20. The power level adjuster of claim 19, wherein the processor performs the adjustment by subtracting a fixed value in dB from the power level for the cell.

21. The power level adjuster of claim 20, wherein once the cell has been corrected, the processor adds the fixed amount in dB only after a congestion value of the cell is below a second threshold, lower than the first threshold.

22. The power level adjuster of claim 21, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold prevent oscillation.

23. The power level adjuster of claim 13, wherein the call is a mobile telephone call.

24. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium for setting up a call, comprising:

a receiving source code segment for receiving a value representing a power level for a cell, wherein the value representing the power level is received from a mobile telephone unit;

an adjusting source code segment for adjusting the value representing the power level for the cell based on congestion to produce an adjusted value without adjusting an actual output power level; and

a set up source code segment for setting up the call based on the adjusted value.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the receiving and adjusting steps are performed for at least two cells and the setting up step sets the call up on the one of the at least two cells with the largest adjusted value.

26. The computer program of claim 25, wherein the adjusting source code segment is performed only for cells of the at least two cells with a congestion value above a first threshold.

27. The computer program of claim 25, wherein two of the at least two cells are controlled by the same base station.

28. The computer program of claim 24, wherein the adjusting source code segment adjusts a priority of the power level for the cell to reduce a number of calls being set up on the cell.

29. The computer program of claim 28, wherein the number of calls being set up on the congested cell is reduced by setting up calls on other surrounding less congested cells.

30. The computer program of claim 24, wherein the adjusting source code segment includes applying a fixed adjustment factor to the power level for the cell.

31. The computer program of claim 30, wherein the adjusting source code segment includes subtracting a fixed value in dB from the power level for the cell.

32. The computer program of claim 31, wherein once the cell has been corrected, the adjusting source code segment adds the fixed amount in dB only after a congestion value of the cell is below a second threshold, lower than the first threshold.

33. The computer signal of claim 32, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold prevent oscillation.

34. The computer program of claim 24, wherein the call is a mobile telephone call.

35. A computer signal comprising:

a receiving signal segment for receiving a value representing a power level for a cell, wherein the value representing the power level is received from a an mobile telephone unit;

an adjusting signal segment for adjusting the value representing the power level for the cell based on congestion to produce an adjusted value without adjusting an actual output power level; and

a set up signal segment for setting up a call based on the adjusted value.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the receiving and adjusting steps are performed for at least two cells and the setting up step sets the call up on the one of the at least two cells with the largest adjusted value.

37. The computer signal of claim 36, wherein the adjusting signal segment is performed only for cells of the at least two cells with a congestion value above a first threshold.

38. The computer signal of claim 36, wherein two of the at least two cells are controlled by the same base station.

39. The computer signal of claim 35, wherein the adjusting signal segment adjusts a priority of the power level for the cell to reduce a number of calls being set up on the cell.

40. The computer signal of claim 39, wherein the number of calls being set up on the congested cell is reduced by setting up calls on other surrounding less congested cells.

41. The computer signal of claim 35, wherein the adjusting signal segment includes applying a fixed adjustment factor to the power level for the cell.

42. The computer signal of claim 41, wherein the adjusting signal segment includes subtracting a fixed value in dB from the power level for the cell.

43. The computer signal of claim 42, wherein once a cell has been corrected, the adjusting signal segment adds the fixed amount in dB only-after a congestion value of the cell is below a second threshold, lower than the first threshold.

44. The computer signal of claim 43, wherein the first threshold and the second threshold prevent oscillation.

45. The computer signal of claim 35, wherein the call is a mobile telephone call.

46. The computer signal of claim 35, wherein the computer signal is embodied on a carrier-wave.