Mobile access in a diverse access point network

• US 8,588,738 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2008
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Gholmieh, Aziz, Grilli, Francesco, Tenny, Nathan E., Zreiq, Samer S., Nizri, Shlomo
• Primary Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Kashif
• Application Number:
  US12/239,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20090088131A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,880 Days
• Field of Search: 455/435.1, 455/435.3, 455/410, 455/550.1
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/32 Hierarchical cell structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/14 using user query or user detection

Abstract

Facilitating user terminal (UT) access to wireless networks having base stations (BSs) of disparate access types is described herein. In some aspects, BS parameterization is provided to facilitate search and/or access to distinct types of network BSs. For instance, parameters can modify a likelihood of identifying or remaining coupled to restricted access (RA) BSs in a home Node B (HNB) deployment. In other aspects of the subject disclosure, a PLMN ID reserved for HNBs is provided comprising multiple region IDs. Where a UT identifies a home region, HNBs can be given preference over macro BSs. Additionally, the UT can keep track of HNBs and HNB regions that reject access to the UT, and implement a delay time to mitigate rapid signaling to foreign HNBs in a dense HNB deployment. Accordingly, the subject disclosure provides for more efficient UT access in heterogeneous access type networks.

Claims

1. A method of providing mobile access in a wireless network, comprising:

obtaining a wireless signal comprising a network access request from a first user terminal (UT), the network access request including identification information of the first UT;

allowing or denying the network access request based on the identification information of the first UT; and

transmitting, by a base station serving a sector of the wireless network, a set of parameters that increases a probability that a UT will access a restricted access base station (RA BS) or decreases a probability that the UT will access a general access base station (GA BS), the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters comprises a priority hierarchy parameter that indicates higher priority for one type of base station (BS) over another BS type, or a higher priority for one frequency channel over another frequency channel.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the priority hierarchy parameter comprises a hierarchical cell structure (HCS) parameter, and wherein the HCS parameter or at least one parameter of the set of parameters is transmitted via dedicated signaling to the UT.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters comprises a parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS in the sector searches for neighboring sectors of the wireless network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters comprises a parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS in the sector re-selects to a neighboring sector of the wireless network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters comprises a parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS searches for neighboring RA BSs that share a common frequency with the GA BS.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters comprises a parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS searches for neighboring RA BSs on different frequencies than utilized by the GA BS.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of parameters comprises a parameter that establishes a high relative threshold below which a UT served by the GA BS searches for RA BSs.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining a UT profile that indicates restricted access (RA) capabilities or subscription status of the first UT and at least one of:

transmitting a set of parameters increasing a likelihood of accessing or handing off to the RA BS if the first UT is an RA-authorized UT;

or

transmitting a set of parameters decreasing a likelihood of signaling the RA BS if the first UT is a non RA-authorized UT.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the RA capabilities indicated by the UT profile indicate a priority level for frequency channels employed by the RA BS or GA BS, and wherein the priority level is employed by at least one parameter of the set of parameters that increases the probability that the UT will access an RA BS or decreases the probability that the UT will access a GA BS to weigh a likelihood of searching for the RA BS or GA BS on the frequency channels.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a profile of the first UT at a sector of the wireless network;

identifying a home region identifier (ID) of the first UT from the profile; and

establishing a public land mobile network (PLMN) ID reserved for RA BSs of the wireless network as an equivalent of a home PLMN ID of the first UT if the sector and the first UT'"'"'s home region share a common region ID.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting the reserved PLMN ID to the first UT for base station acquisition if the sector shares the common region ID; and

refraining from transmitting the reserved PLMN ID to the first UT if the sector does not share the common region ID.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein allowing or denying the network access request comprises:

obtaining a home region ID or a closed subscriber group (CSG) ID of the first UT from the identification information of the first UT; and

denying the network access request if the home region ID does not match a region ID of the sector or if the CSG ID is not included in a CSG listing of the sector.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising transmitting a parameter to the first UT that establishes a delay time before expiration of which the first UT refrains from performing at least one of:

registering on a sector having a PLMN ID reserved for RA BSs;

or

searching for sectors on a frequency reserved for RA BSs.

15. A base station, comprising:

a transceiver that obtains a wireless signal comprising a network access request from a first user terminal (UT), the network access request including identification information of the first UT;

a registration module that allows or denies the network access request based on the identification information of the first UT; and

a selective access module that employs the transceiver to transmit a set of parameters to increase a probability that a UT will access a restricted access base station (RA BS) in a sector or to decrease a probability that the UT will access a general access base station (GA BS) in the sector, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter.

16. The base station of claim 15, wherein the set of parameters comprises a priority hierarchy configured for the UT, and wherein the priority hierarchy indicates at least one of:

higher access priority for RA BSs than for GA BSs if the UT is restricted access (RA)-capable;

or

higher access priority for GA BSs than for RA BSs if the UT is not RA-capable.

17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the priority hierarchy is a hierarchical cell structure (HCS), and wherein the selective access module transmits the HCS or at least one parameter of the set of parameters via dedicated signaling to the UT.

18. The base station of claim 15, wherein the set of parameters comprises at least one parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS searches for other sectors of the wireless network.

19. The base station of claim 15, wherein the set of parameters comprises at least one parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS adds another sector of the wireless network to an active handoff set.

20. The base station of claim 15, wherein the set of parameters comprises at least one parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS searches for other RA BSs that share a common frequency with the GA BS.

21. The base station of claim 15, wherein the set of parameters comprises at least one parameter that establishes a high relative threshold below which a UT served by the GA BS searches for RA BSs.

22. The base station of claim 15, wherein the set of parameters comprises at least one parameter that establishes a low relative threshold below which a UT served by the RA BS searches for neighboring RA BSs on different frequencies than utilized by the GA BS.

23. The base station of claim 15, further comprising a data query module that obtains a UT profile indicating restricted access (RA) capabilities of the first UT, wherein the selective access module performs at least one of:

configuring the set of parameters to increase a likelihood of obtaining and accessing the RA BS if the first UT is an RA-capable UT;

or

configuring the set of parameters to decrease a likelihood of signaling the RA BS if the first UT is a non RA-capable UT.

24. The base station of claim 23, wherein the RA capabilities indicated by the UT profile indicate a priority level for frequency channels employed by the RA BS or GA BS, the priority level is employed by at least one parameter of the set of parameters to weight a likelihood of searching for the RA BS or GA BS on the frequency channels.

25. The base station of claim 15, further comprising:

a data query module that obtains a profile of the first UT; and

an analysis module that identifies a home region identifier (ID) of the first UT from the profile and establishes a public land mobile network (PLMN) ID reserved for RA BSs as an equivalent of the first UT'"'"'s home PLMN ID if the base station and the first UT'"'"'s home region share a common region ID.

26. The base station of claim 25, wherein the selective access module:

employs the transceiver to transmit the reserved PLMN ID to the first UT for base station (BS) acquisition if the BS shares the common region ID; and

refrains from transmitting the reserved PLMN ID to the first UT if the BS does not share the common region ID.

27. The base station of claim 15, further comprising an analysis module that obtains a home region ID or a closed subscriber group (CSG) ID of the first UT from the identification information of the first UT, wherein the registration module denies the network access request if the home region ID does not match a region ID of the sector or if the CSG ID is not included in a CSG listing of the sector.

28. The base station of claim 27, the set of parameters comprises at least one parameter configured to cause the UT to, for a specified delay period, refrain from at least one of:

register on a sector having a PLMN ID reserved for RA BSs;

or

search for sectors on a frequency reserved for RA BSs.

29. An apparatus that provides mobile access in a wireless network, comprising:

means for obtaining a wireless signal comprising a network access request from a first user terminal (UT), the network access request including identification information of the first UT;

means for allowing or denying the network access request based on the identification information of the first UT; and

means for transmitting a set of parameters that increases a probability that a UT will access a restricted access base station in a sector of the wireless network or decreases a probability that the UT will access a general access base station in the sector, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter.

30. A processor configured to provide mobile access in a wireless network, comprising:

a first module configured to obtain a wireless signal comprising a network access request from a first user terminal (UT), the network access request including identification information of the first UT;

a second module configured to allow or deny the network access request based on the identification information of the first UT; and

a third module configured to transmit a set of parameters that increases a probability that a UT will access a restricted access base station in a sector of the wireless network or decreases a probability that the UT will access a general access base station in the sector, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter.

31. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program code for providing mobile access in a wireless network, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving a wireless signal comprising a network access request from a first user terminal, the network access request including identification information of the first user terminal;

allowing or denying the network access request based on the identification information of the first user terminal; and

transmitting, from a base station serving a sector of the wireless network, a set of parameters that increases a probability that a user terminal will access a restricted access base station in the sector of the wireless network or decreases a probability that the user terminal will access a general access base station in the sector, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter.

32. A method of accessing a wireless network, comprising:

receiving, at a user terminal (UT), a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless network base station (BS);

obtaining from the wireless signal a set of parameters configured to weigh a probability of employing a restricted access base station (RA BS) or a general access base station (GA BS) to interface with the wireless network, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter; and

employing the set of parameters to implement communication with the wireless network.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising obtaining a priority hierarchy from the set of parameters and prioritizing RA BSs or GA BSs or prioritizing one or more frequency channels employed by RA BSs or GA BSs based on the priority hierarchy and restricted access (RA) capabilities of the UT.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising obtaining a parameter from the set of parameters that establishes a relatively low threshold below which a UT served by an RA BS searches for non RA BSs.

35. The method of claim 32, further comprising obtaining a parameter from the set of parameters that establishes a relatively low threshold below which a UT searches for BSs that utilize a frequency of the wireless network employed by GA BSs.

36. The method of claim 32, further comprising obtaining a parameter from the set of parameters that establishes a relatively high threshold below which a UT searches for a frequency of the wireless network employed by RA BSs.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising obtaining RA-capabilities of the UT served by the wireless network and at least one of:

adjusting a parameter of the UT to increase a likelihood of obtaining and accessing RA BSs if the UT is an RA-capable UT;

or

adjusting a parameter of the UT to decrease a likelihood of searching for the RA BS if the UT is a non RA-capable UT.

38. The method of claim 32, further comprising at least one of:

obtaining a regional public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier (ID) of the BS and a PLMN ID reserved for RA BSs as an equivalent of a home PLMN ID of the UT if the UT is RA-capable;

or

submitting the reserved PLMN ID and the regional PLMN ID to the BS in a request to access the wireless network.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising at least one of:

obtaining access to the BS if the BS is a home RA BS of the UT;

or

obtaining a rejection to the request if the regional PLMN ID does not match the home regional ID of the UT.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising at least one of:

recording the regional PLMN ID as a favored regional ID if access is obtained;

or

recording the regional PLMN ID as an excluded regional ID if the request is rejected.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising increasing a threshold below which the UT searches for or accesses BSs on a frequency of the wireless network utilized by RA BSs if the regional PLMN ID of the BS is the favored regional ID.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising refraining from searching for BSs on a frequency utilized for RA BSs for a delay period if the request is rejected.

43. A user terminal (UT) configured for accessing a wireless network, comprising:

a transceiver that obtains a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless network base station (BS);

a signal processor that obtains from the wireless signal a set of parameters configured to weigh a probability of employing a restricted access (RA) or general access (GA) BS to interface with the wireless network, the'"'"'set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter; and

an access module that employs the set of parameters to implement communication with the wireless network.

44. The UT of claim 43, further comprising a BS preference module that prioritizes RA BSs or GA BSs, or prioritizes frequency channels employed by such BSs, based on a priority hierarchy obtained by the signal processor and based on RA capabilities of the UT.

45. The UT of claim 43, wherein the signal processor further obtains a parameter from the set of parameters that establishes a relatively low threshold below which the UT searches for non RA BSs if the UT is served by an RA BS.

46. The UT of claim 43, wherein the signal processor further obtains a parameter from the set of parameters that establishes a relatively low threshold below which the UT searches for BSs that utilize a frequency of the wireless network employed by GA BSs.

47. The UT of claim 43, wherein the signal processor further obtains a parameter from the set of parameters that establishes a relatively high threshold below which the UT searches for a frequency of the wireless network employed by RA BSs.

48. The UT of claim 43, wherein the signal processor further obtains RA-capabilities of the UT, wherein the UT further comprises a parameterization module that at least one of:

adjusts a parameter of the UT to increase a likelihood of obtaining and accessing RA BSs if the UT is an RA-capable UT;

or

adjusts a parameter of the UT to decrease a likelihood of signaling the RA BS if the UT is a non RA-capable UT.

49. The UT of claim 43, wherein the signal processor further obtains a regional public land mobile network (PLMN) identifier (ID) of the BS and a PLMN ID reserved for RA BSs as an equivalent of a home PLMN ID of the UT if the UT is RA-capable.

50. The UT of claim 49, wherein the access module submits the reserved PLMN ID and the regional PLMN ID to the BS in a request to access the wireless network.

51. The UT of claim 49, further comprising an access tracking module that performs at least one of:

recording the regional PLMN ID as a favored regional ID if the BS is a home RA BS of the UT;

or

recording the regional PLMN ID as an excluded regional ID if the regional PLMN ID does not match a home regional ID of the UT.

52. The UT of claim 51, wherein a parameterization module increases a threshold below which the UT searches for or accesses BSs on a frequency of the wireless network utilized by RA BSs if the regional PLMN ID of the BS is the favored regional ID.

53. The UT of claim 43, further comprising a timing module that establishes a delay time over which the access module refrains from searching for BSs on a frequency utilized for RA BSs for a delay period if the request is rejected.

54. An apparatus for accessing a wireless network, comprising:

means for receiving a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless network base station (BS);

means for obtaining from the wireless signal a set of parameters configured to weight a probability of employing a restricted access (RA) or general access (GA) BS to interface with the wireless network, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter; and

means for employing the set of parameters to implement communication with the wireless network.

55. A processor configured for accessing a wireless network, comprising:

a first module configured to receive a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless network base station (BS);

a second module configured to obtain from the wireless signal a set of parameters configured to weight a probability of employing a restricted access (RA) or general access (GA) BS to interface with the wireless network, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter; and

a third module configured to employ the set of parameters to implement communication with the wireless network.

56. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program code for accessing a wireless network, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless network base station;

obtaining from the wireless signal a set of parameters configured to weigh a probability of employing a restricted access base station or a general access base station to interface with the wireless network, the set of parameters comprising a hierarchical cell structure parameter, a cell search parameter, a frequency search parameter, and a user equipment access type parameter; and

employing the set of parameters to implement communication with the wireless network.