Apparatus and methods for allocation of high-penetration services in wireless communications systems

• US 6,405,039 B1
• Filed: 04/20/1999
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Koorapaty, Havish, Khayrallah, Ali S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Milord, Marceau
• Application Number:
  US09/295,178
• Time in Patent Office: 1,148 Days
• Field of Search: 455/434, 455/403, 455/422, 455/435, 455/406, 455/445, 455/509, 455/510, 455/452, 455/511, 455/450, 370/252, 370/522, 370/329, 370/558, 370/328, 370/337, 370/465, 370/336, 370/345, 370/310, 370/464, 379/114.05, 379/114.06, 379/114.07, 375/347, 375/134, 375/346
• US Class Current: 455/434
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0059 Convolutional codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel

Abstract

A wireless communications system includes a plurality of base stations that communicate control information with terminals at a first redundancy level over regular control channels. A subset of the plurality of base stations also communicate control information with terminals at a second redundancy level greater than the first redundancy level over high-penetration control channels. The subset of base stations may be distributed to efficiently provide service without using an inordinate amount of channel capacity. In one embodiment, cells served by the plurality of base stations may be grouped into a plurality of groups, e.g., frequency or code reuse groups, such that a respective group of base stations serves a respective group of cells. The subset of base stations may include at least one base station from each group of base stations. The subset of base stations may be geographically distributed with a greater density than the groups of cells to provide improved service to obstructed locations. A voice service may be provided to terminals access the system via a regular control channel, and a message service may be provide to terminals accessing the system via a high-penetration control channel. A terminal for communicating with a such a system includes a receiver operative to receive control information transmitted over a plurality of regular control channels and high-penetration control channels. A controller is operative to scan the receiver over the plurality of regular and high-penetration control channels and to camp the receiver on a selected regular or high-penetration forward control channel based on a measure of communications quality.

Claims

1. A wireless communications system, comprising:

a plurality of base stations that communicate with terminals over physical channels,

wherein said plurality of base stations communicate control information with terminals at a first redundancy level over regular control channels mapped onto said physical channels, and wherein said plurality of base stations includes a subset of base stations that also communicate control information with terminals at a second redundancy level greater than said first redundancy level over high-penetration control channels mapped onto said physical channels.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein a base station of said plurality of base stations provides a voice service to a terminal accessing the system via a regular control channel, and wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations provides a message service to a terminal accessing the system via a high-penetration control channel.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations provides a message service over a high-penetration forward control channel.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations provides a message service over a traffic channel.

5. A system according to claim 1:

wherein each of said plurality of base stations transmit control information on a regular forward control channel at said first redundancy level; and

wherein each base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations is further operative to transmit control information on a high-penetration forward control channel at said second redundancy level.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations transmits information identifying a high-penetration forward control channel transmitted by another base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations transmits information identifying a regular forward control channel transmitted by another base station of said plurality of base stations.

8. A system according to claim 5, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations transmits control information on a forward control channel and a high-penetration control channel at substantially the same power levels.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations communicates over a regular control channel with terminals located in a first coverage area and communicates over a high-penetration control channel with terminals located in a second coverage area larger than said first coverage area.

10. A system according to claim 1:

wherein said plurality of base stations serve cells that are grouped into a plurality of groups, such that a respective group of base stations serves a respective set of cells; and

wherein said subset of said plurality of base stations comprises at least one base station from group of base stations.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein base stations of said subset of said plurality of base stations communicate over high-penetration control channels mapped onto a common set of carrier frequency bands.

12. A system according to claim 10, wherein base stations of said subset of said plurality of base stations are geographically distributed with a greater density than said groups of cells.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein adjacent base stations of said subset of said plurality of base stations communicate over high-penetration control channels mapped onto different sets of carrier frequency bands.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein each base station of said plurality of base stations is operative to be enabled or disabled for communication over a high-penetration control channel such that said subset of said plurality of base station can be dynamically altered.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations transmits a regular forward control channel and a high-penetration forward control channel on a respective first and second physical channels on a common carrier frequency band.

16. A system according to claim 1:

wherein said plurality of base stations communicate control information with terminals over Digital Control Channels (DCCHs) at the first redundancy level; and

wherein base stations of said subset of said plurality of base stations communicate control information with terminals over high-penetration Digital Control Channels (HP-DCCHs) at the second redundancy level.

17. A system according to claim 16, wherein said DCCHs comprise at least one of a forward DCCH (FDCCH) and a reverse DCCH (RDCCH).

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein a base station of said plurality of base stations provides a voice service to a terminal accessing the system via a DCCH, and wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations provide a message service to a terminal accessing the system via a HP-DCCH.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein a base station of said subset of said plurality of base stations provides a message service over a high-penetration Traffic Channel (HP-TCH).

20. A terminal for communicating with a wireless communications system over physical channels , the terminal comprising:

a receiver operative to receive control information transmitted over a plurality of regular control channels and high-penetration control channels, said receiver operative to receive control information at a first redundancy level over said regular control channels and to receive control information at a second redundancy level greater than said first redundancy level over said high-penetration control channels; and

a controller operatively associated with said receiver and operative to scan said receiver over the plurality of regular and high-penetration control channels and to camp said receiver on a selected regular or high-penetration forward control channel based on a measure of communications quality.

21. A terminal according to claim 20, wherein said receiver is operative to receive information over a regular or a high-penetration control channel that identifies a plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels, and wherein said controller is operative to scan said receiver over said plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels.

22. A terminal according to claim 21, wherein said controller is operative to transition said receiver to camping on one of the candidate regular control channels when communications quality for said one candidate regular control channel meets a predetermined criteria.

23. A terminal according to claim 22, wherein said controller is operative to transition said receiver from camping on a first regular control channel to camping on a second regular control channel selected from the plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels when communications quality for said second regular control channel exceeds communications quality for said first regular control channel.

24. A terminal according to claim 21, wherein said controller is operative to transition said receiver from camping on a regular control channel to camping on a high-penetration control channel selected from said plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels when communications quality for the regular control channel and for the candidate regular control channels of the plurality of regular and high-penetration control channels is unacceptable.

25. A terminal according to claim 21, wherein said controller is operative to transition said receiver from camping on a high-penetration control channel to camping on one of the candidate regular control channels when communications quality on the candidate regular control channel meets a predetermined criteria.

26. A terminal according to claim 20:

wherein said receiver and said controller are operative to receive a voice service from the wireless communications system when camped on a regular control channel; and

wherein said receiver and said controller are operative to receive a message service from the wireless communications system when camped on a high-penetration control channel.

27. A terminal according to claim 26, wherein said receiver and said controller are operative to receive message data over a high-penetration control channel.

28. A terminal according to claim 26, wherein said receiver and said controller are operative to receive message data over a traffic channel when camped on a high-penetration control channel.

29. A terminal according to claim 20:

wherein said receiver is operative to receive control information over a plurality of Digital Control Channels (DCCHs) at the first redundancy level and over a plurality of high-penetration Digital Control Channels (HP-DCCHs) at the second redundancy level; and

wherein said controller is operative to scan said receiver over the pluralities of DCCHs and HP-DCCHs to camp said receiver on a selected DCCH or HP-DCCH based on a measure of communications quality.

30. A terminal according to claim 29, wherein said receiver and said controller are operative to receive voice service when camped on a DCCH, and wherein said receiver and said controller receive a message service when camped on a HP-DCCH.

31. A terminal according to claim 30, wherein said receiver and said controller are operative to receive said message service over a high-penetration Traffic Channel (HP-TCH).

32. A method of operating a wireless communications system comprising a plurality of base stations operative to communicate over physical channels, the method comprising the steps of:

communicating control information between the plurality of base stations and terminals at a first redundancy level over regular control channels mapped onto the physical channels; and

communicating control information between a subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals at a second redundancy level greater than the first redundancy level over high-penetration control channels mapped onto the physical channels.

33. A method according to claim 32, further comprising the steps of:

providing a voice service to a terminal accessing the system via a regular control channel; and

providing a message service to a terminal accessing the system via a high-penetration control channel.

34. A method according to claim 33, wherein said step of providing a message service comprises the step of providing a message service over a high-penetration forward control channel.

35. A method according to claim 33, wherein said step of providing a message service comprises the step of providing a message service over a traffic channel.

36. A method according to claim 32:

wherein said step of communicating control information over a regular control channel comprises the step of transmitting control information on a regular forward control channel at the first redundancy level; and

wherein said step of communicating control information over a high-penetration control channel comprises the step of transmitting control information on a high-penetration forward control channel at the second redundancy level.

37. A method according to claim 36, wherein said step of transmitting control information on a regular forward control channel comprises the step of transmitting information identifying a high-penetration forward control channel transmitted by a base station of the subset of the plurality of base stations.

38. A method according to claim 36, wherein said step of transmitting control information on a high-penetration control channel comprises the step of transmitting information identifying a high-penetration forward control channel transmitted by a base station of the subset of the plurality of base stations.

39. A method according to claim 36, wherein control information transmitted over the regular control channel and control information transmitted over the high-penetration control channel is transmitted at substantially the same power level.

40. A method according to claim 32, further comprising the steps of;

communicating between a base station of the subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals located in a first coverage area over a regular control channel; and

communicating between the base station of the subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals located in a second coverage area larger than the first coverage area over a high-penetration control channel.

41. A method according to claim 32:

wherein the plurality of base stations serve cells grouped into a plurality of groups, such that a respective group of base stations serves a respective group of cells; and

wherein the subset of the plurality of base stations comprises at least one base station from group of base stations.

42. A method according to claim 41, wherein said step of communicating between a subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals comprises the step of communicating between the subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals over high-penetration control channels mapped onto a common set of carrier frequency bands.

43. A method according to claim 41, wherein the subset of the plurality of base stations are geographically distributed with a greater density than the groups of cells.

44. A method according to claim 32, comprising the step of dynamically changing the subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals communicating with terminals over high-penetration control channels.

45. A method according to claim 36, wherein a regular forward control channel and a high-penetration forward control channel transmitted by a base station of the subset of the plurality of base stations are mapped onto respective first and second physical channels on a common carrier frequency band.

46. A method according to claim 32:

wherein said step of communicating between the plurality of base stations and terminals comprises the step of communicating control information between the plurality of base stations and terminals over Digital Control Channels (DCCHs) at the first redundancy level; and

wherein said step of communicating between the subset of the plurality of base station and terminals comprises the step of communicating control information between the subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals over high-penetration Digital Control Channels (HP-DCCHs) at the second redundancy level.

47. A method according to claim 46, wherein the DCCHs comprise at least one of a forward DCCH (FDCCH) and a reverse DCCH (RDCCH), and wherein the HP-DCCHs comprise at least one of a forward HP-DCCH (HP-FDCCH) and a reverse HP-DCCH (HP-RDCCH).

48. A method of operating a terminal for communicating with a wireless communications system over physical channels, the method comprising the steps of:

scanning a plurality of regular control channels over which control information is transmitted at a first redundancy level and a plurality of high-penetration control channels over which control information is transmitted at a second redundancy level greater than the first redundancy level; and

camping on a selected regular or high-penetration forward control channel based on a measure of communications quality.

49. A method according to claim 48, wherein said step of scanning is preceded by the step of receiving information over a regular or a high-penetration control channel that identifies a plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels, and wherein said step of scanning comprises the step of scanning the plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels.

50. A method according to claim 49, further comprising the step of transitioning to camping on one of the candidate regular control channels when communications quality for the one candidate regular control channel meets a predetermined criteria.

51. A method according to claim 50, wherein said step of transitioning comprises the step of transitioning from camping on a first regular control channel to camping on a second regular control channel selected from the plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels when communications quality for the second regular control channel exceeds communications quality for the first regular control channel.

52. A method according to claim 49, further comprising the step of transitioning from camping on a regular control channel to camping on a high-penetration control channel selected from the plurality of candidate regular and high-penetration control channels when communications quality for the regular control channel and for the candidate regular control channels of the plurality of regular and high-penetration control channels is unacceptable.

53. A method according to claim 49, further comprising the step of transitioning from camping on a high-penetration control channel to camping on one of the candidate regular control channels when communications quality on the candidate regular control channel meets a predetermined criteria.

54. A method according to claim 48, further comprising the steps of:

communicating voice information with the wireless communications system when camped on a regular control channel; and

communicating message data with the wireless communications system when camped on a high-penetration control channel.

55. A method according to claim 54, wherein said step of communicating message data comprises the step of receiving message data over a high-penetration control channel.

56. A method according to claim 54, wherein said step of communicating message data comprises the step of communicating message data over a traffic channel.

57. A method according to claim 48:

wherein said step of scanning comprises. the step of scanning a plurality of forward Digital Control Channels (FDCCHs) and high-penetration forward Digital Control Channels (HP-FDCCHs); and

wherein said step of camping comprises the step of camping on a selected FDCCH or HP-FDCCH based on a measure of communications quality.

58. A method according to claim 57, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a voice service when camped on a DCCH; and

receiving a message service when camped on a HP-DCCH.

59. A method according to claim 58, further comprising the step of receiving the message service over a high-penetration Traffic Channel (HP-TCH).

60. A wireless communications system, comprising:

a plurality of base stations that communicate with terminals over physical channels,

wherein said plurality of base stations communicate control information with terminals at a first redundancy level over regular control channels mapped onto said physical channels, and wherein said plurality of base stations includes a subset of base stations that also communicate control information with terminals at a second redundancy level greater than said first redundancy level over high-penetration control channels mapped onto said physical channels while at least one of said plurality of base stations is constrained to not provide high-penetration control channels.

61. A method of operating a wireless communications system comprising a plurality of base stations operative to communicate over physical channels, the method comprising the steps of:

communicating control information between the plurality of base stations and terminals at a first redundancy level over regular control channels mapped onto the physical channels; and

communicating control information between a subset of the plurality of base stations and terminals at a second redundancy level greater than the first redundancy level over high-penetration control channels mapped onto the physical channels while constraining at least one other of the plurality of base stations to not support high-penetration control channels.