Method and system for spectrum management

• US 8,532,045 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2011
• Issued: 09/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Buddhikot, Milind M., Al-Ayyoub, Mahmoud, Gupta, Himanshu
• Primary Examiner(s): ROSE, KERRI M
• Application Number:
  US13/080,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20110243084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370328-330, 370/340, 370/341, 370/400, 370/401, 370/431, 370/468, 455450-453
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/12 Fixed resource partitioning

Abstract

A method and apparatus for defining spectral usage at a base station in a wireless network. In various embodiments, the wireless network is divided into a plurality of regions, such that each of the regions may have associated with it one or more interfering adjacent regions, which are associated with different portions of a spectral allocation.

Claims

1. A method for defining spectral usage at a base station in a wireless network, the wireless network being divided into a plurality of regions, wherein each of the regions may have associated with it one or more interfering adjacent regions, wherein interfering adjacent regions are associated with different portions of a spectral allocation, said method comprising:

determining, at said base station, the spectral allocation associated with the region including said base station;

selecting for use an initial portion of a plurality of channels within the determined spectral allocation sufficient to meet a minimum demand level;

obtaining one or more interference factors associated with the region; and

determining a respective interference model associated with the corresponding region in response to the obtaining step.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a determination that the region including said base station includes another base station, selecting for use an allocation of a remaining portion of said plurality of channels within the determined spectral allocation.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said allocation of said remaining portion of said plurality of channels is selected using a utility function.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adapting said selection of channels in response to change in interference associated with interfering adjacent region.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of said regions comprises a hexagon having a side-length of one unit and is deemed to be an interfering adjacent region to any other region within a two unit distance.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said interference relationships between base stations comprise pairwise interference (PW) model and physical interference (PH) model.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each portion of said spectral allocation comprises 1/Nth of said spectral allocation, where N is selected to provide a number of spectral allocation portions sufficient to associate interfering adjacent regions with different spectral allocation portions.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said interference changes comprise one or more of a region deletion, a region addition, a base station deletion, a base station addition, signal strength changes, or environmental condition changes.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium for storing computer instructions which, when processed by a computer, adapt the operation of the computer to perform a method for defining spectral usage at a base station in a wireless network, the wireless network being divided into a plurality of regions, wherein each of the regions may have associated with it one or more interfering adjacent regions, wherein interfering adjacent regions are associated with different portions of a spectral allocation, said method comprising:

determining, at said base station, the spectral allocation associated with the region including said base station;

selecting for use an initial portion of a plurality of channels within the determined spectral allocation sufficient to meet a minimum demand level;

obtaining one or more interference factors associated with the region; and

determining a respective interference model associated with the corresponding region in response to the obtaining step.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, further comprising:

in response to a determination that the region including said base station includes another base station, selecting for use an allocation of a remaining portion of said plurality of channels within the determine spectral allocation.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein said initial portion of said plurality of channels is selected to meet a minimum demand level, and said allocation of said remaining portion of said plurality of channels is selected using a utility function.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein each of said regions comprises a hexagon having a side-length of one unit and is deemed to be an interfering adjacent region to any other region within a two unit distance.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein said interference relationships between base stations comprise pairwise interference (PW) model and physical interference (PH) model.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein each portion of said spectral allocation comprises 1/Nth of said spectral allocation, where N is selected to provide a number of spectral allocation portions sufficient to associate interfering adjacent regions with different spectral allocation portions.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein said interference changes comprise one or more of a base station deletion, a base station addition, signal strength changes, or environmental condition changes.

16. A computer system for defining spectral usage at a base station in a wireless network, the wireless network being divided into a plurality of regions, wherein each of the regions may have associated with it one or more interfering adjacent regions, wherein interfering adjacent regions are associated with different portions of a spectral allocation, said computer system comprising:

a controller adapted to;

(a) determine the spectral allocation associated with the region including said base station;

(b) select for use an initial portion of a plurality of channels within the determined spectral allocation sufficient to meet a minimum demand level;

(c) obtain one or more interference factors associated with the region; and

(d) determine a respective interference model associated with the corresponding region in response to (c).

17. The computer system of claim 16, further comprising:

in response to a determination that the region including said base station includes another base station, selecting for use an allocation of a remaining portion of said plurality of channels within the determine spectral allocation.

18. The computer system of claim 16, wherein said initial portion of said plurality of channels is selected to meet a minimum demand level, and said allocation of said remaining portion of said plurality of channels is selected using a utility function.

19. The computer system of claim 16, wherein each of said regions comprises a hexagon having a side-length of one unit and is deemed to be an interfering adjacent region to any other region within a two unit distance.

20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein interference relationships between base stations comprise pairwise interference (PW) model and physical interference (PH) model.

21. The computer system of claim 16, wherein each portion of said spectral allocation comprises 1/Nth of said spectral allocation, where N is selected to provide a number of spectral allocation portions sufficient to associate interfering adjacent regions with different spectral allocation portions.

22. The computer system of claim 16, wherein interference changes comprise one or more of a base station deletion, a base station addition, signal strength changes, or environmental condition changes.