LTE smart paging list

• US 8,571,582 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2010
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Lopez, Javier M., Shaikh, Imtiyaz
• Primary Examiner(s): RAMPURIA, SHARAD K
• Application Number:
  US12/939,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20120115515A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,090 Days
• Field of Search: 455/458, 455/515, 455450-453, 370/312, 370/311
• US Class Current: 455/458
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/04 multi-step notification using statistical or historical mobility data

Abstract

A device receives, at a particular time, instructions to send a page to user equipment. The device determines, based on a paging list, if the user equipment is associated with a particular serving base station for the particular time. When the user equipment is associated with the particular serving base station for the particular time, the device sends the page to the user equipment via the particular serving base station. When the user equipment is not associated with a serving base station for the particular time, the device sends the page to the user equipment via all base stations associated with a tracking area list for the user equipment.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a mobility management entity (MME) computing device, the method comprising:

monitoring, by the computing device, wireless network connections between user equipment and base stations;

predicting, by the computing device and based on the monitoring by the computing device, serving base stations for user equipment for multiple particular time periods, where the predicting includes;

identifying particular days and times when the user equipment is consistently attached to a first base station, and

identifying different particular days and times when the user equipment is consistently attached to a second base station;

generating, by the computing device and based on the predicting by the computing device, a paging list associating particular user equipment with particular serving base stations for the multiple particular time periods;

receiving, by the computing device and at a particular time, instructions to send a page to the particular user equipment;

determining, by the computing device and based on one of the multiple particular time periods of the paging list, if the particular user equipment is associated with one of the particular serving base stations for the particular time; and

sending, by the computing device and when the paging list indicates that the particular user equipment is associated with one of the particular serving base stations for the particular time, the page to the particular user equipment via the one of the particular serving base stations.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising

sending, by the computing device and when the particular user equipment is not associated with one of the particular serving base stations for the particular time, the page to the particular user equipment via all base stations associated with a tracking area list for the particular user equipment.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if the page sent via the one of the particular serving base stations is successful; and

re-sending, the page to the particular user equipment via all base stations associated with a tracking area list for the particular user equipment when the page sent via the one of the particular serving base stations is not successful.

4. The method of claim 1, where the wireless network connections are connections using a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.

5. The method of claim 1, where monitoring the wireless network connections between user equipment and base stations with respect to time includes:

retrieving connection information from user equipment registration and handover procedures.

6. The method of claim 1, where predicting serving base stations for user equipment for multiple particular time periods includes predicting particular sectors of serving base stations, and where the paging list associating particular user equipment with the particular serving base stations for the particular multiple time periods includes the particular sectors.

7. The method of claim 1, where sending the page to the particular user equipment via the one of the particular serving base stations includes:

sending the page via a particular sector of the one of the particular serving base stations.

8. A device, comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

monitor wireless network connections between user equipment and base stations;

predict, based on the monitoring, serving base stations for user equipment for multiple particular time periods, where the predicting includes;

identifying particular days and times when the user equipment is consistently attached to a first base station, and

identifying different particular days and times when the user equipment is consistently attached to a second base station;

generate, based on the predicting, a paging list associating particular user equipment with particular serving base stations for the multiple particular time periods;

receive, at a particular time, instructions to send a page to user equipment;

determine, based on one of the multiple particular time periods of the paging list, if the user equipment is associated with a particular serving base station for the particular time;

send, when the user equipment is associated with the particular serving base station for the particular time, the page to the user equipment via the particular serving base station; and

send, when the user equipment is not associated with the particular serving base station for the particular time, the page to the user equipment via all base stations associated with a tracking area list for the user equipment.

9. The device of claim 8, where, when predicting serving base stations for the user equipment, the processor is further to execute instructions to:

identify statistically significant time periods when the user equipment is attached to the same base station.

10. The device of claim 8, where, when monitoring the wireless network connections between the user equipment and the base stations, the processor is further to execute instructions to:

retrieve connection information from registration and handover procedures associated with the user equipment.

11. The device of claim 8, where the processor is further to execute instructions to:

determine if the page sent via the particular serving base stations is not successful; and

resend, the page to the user equipment via all base stations associated with the tracking area list when the page sent via the one of the particular serving base stations is not successful.

12. The device of claim 8, where the device is a mobility management entity (MME).

13. The device of claim 8, where, when sending the page to the user equipment via the particular serving base station, the processor is further to execute instructions to:

send the page via a particular sector of the particular serving base station.

14. A computer-readable memory comprising computer-executable instructions, the computer-readable memory comprising:

one or more instructions to generate, based on stored user equipment network connection data, a paging list associating user equipment with different serving base stations for multiple particular time periods, where the multiple particular time periods include;

particular days and times when the user equipment is consistently attached to a first base station, and

different particular days and times when the user equipment is consistently attached to a second base station;

one or more instructions to receive, at a particular time within one of the multiple particular time periods, instructions to page the user equipment; and

one or more instructions to page the user equipment via a particular one of the different serving base stations for one of the multiple particular time periods in the paging list that corresponds to the particular time.

15. The computer-readable memory of claim 14, further comprising:

one or more instructions to retrieve the user equipment network connection data with respect to time; and

one or more instructions to predict, based on the retrieved data, different serving base stations for the user equipment for different time periods.

16. The computer-readable memory of claim 15, where the user equipment network connection data includes connection information from user equipment registration and handover procedures within a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.