Restoration priority determination system

The recovery priority determination system addresses the challenge of efficiently managing multiple base station failures by assessing neighboring base stations' communication capabilities, prioritizing restoration based on radio wave propagation and other factors, ensuring critical areas receive timely maintenance.

WO2025238756A1PCT designated stage Publication Date: 2025-11-20NT T INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
PCT/JP2024/017996
Authority / Receiving Office
WO · WO
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-05-15
Publication Date
2025-11-20

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The increasing number of base station failures due to the use of high-frequency bands in mobile networks, coupled with labor shortages, makes it difficult to efficiently prioritize and manage the restoration of multiple failed stations, leading to potential service interruptions.

Method used

A recovery priority determination system that includes a failure detection unit, radio wave propagation estimation unit, and determination unit to assess the ability of neighboring base stations to maintain communication, considering factors like installation area, communication purpose, usage status, and impact of failures, to prioritize restoration based on the estimated radio wave propagation.

Benefits of technology

Enables efficient prioritization of base station restoration by identifying stations that cannot be compensated by neighbors, allowing focused maintenance efforts to prevent service interruptions and ensure critical areas receive timely recovery.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a restoration priority determination system comprising: a failure detection unit that detects a failure of at least one base station among a plurality of base stations; a radio wave propagation estimation unit that estimates, in a coverage area of the failure base station detected by the failure detection unit, the arrival status of radio waves from a neighboring base station other than the failure base station among the plurality of base stations; and a determination unit that determines the restoration priority of the failure base station on the basis of the result of the estimation by the radio wave propagation estimation unit.
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Description

Recovery Priority Judgment System

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system for determining restoration priority of a failed base station.

[0002] Mobile networks are an important social infrastructure that supports people's daily lives and other industries, and service continuity is essential. To meet the growing need for ultra-high-speed, high-capacity communications, the use of high-frequency radio waves is expected. Mobile networks using high-frequency bands generally have characteristics such as narrow beam widths, difficulty in bending radio waves around objects, and susceptibility to attenuation. Ensuring line-of-sight between base stations and devices will require more base stations, and the number of base station failures is expected to gradually increase. With labor shortages becoming more serious, improving the efficiency of maintenance work to restore base stations after failures is becoming increasingly important.

[0003] In response to a base station failure, there is a method in which the tilt angle of a normal neighboring base station adjacent to the failed base station is controlled (calculated and reset), and the neighboring base station temporarily compensates for the base station function in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station (see, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). In this way, if the neighboring base station can continue communication in place of the failed base station, service interruption can be prevented.

[0004] As the number of base stations increases in the future, the number of base stations that fail simultaneously will also increase. However, with a limited number of maintenance personnel, it is difficult to simultaneously restore multiple failed base stations. Unless the restoration priority for multiple failed base stations is clearly defined, it becomes difficult to create a plan for carrying out restoration work.

[0005] NTT Docomo, Inc., Technical Journal Vol. 27 No. 1, [Realizing Advanced Maintenance Operations with AI], Section 3 "Considerations on Advanced Operational Operations Using AI" (3) Measures Fujitsu Limited, White Paper [Advanced Radio Access Network Operation and Management with AI], P. 16 "Relief Solutions for Service Outage Areas"

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to make it possible to determine the restoration priority of a failed base station.

[0007] The recovery priority determination system of the present disclosure includes a failure detection unit that detects a failure of at least one base station among a plurality of base stations; a radio wave propagation estimation unit that estimates the arrival status of radio waves from neighboring base stations other than the failed base station among the plurality of base stations in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station detected by the failure detection unit; and a determination unit that determines the recovery priority of the failed base station based on the estimation result by the radio wave propagation estimation unit.

[0008] The present disclosure includes a radio wave propagation estimation unit that estimates the arrival status of radio waves from neighboring base stations in the coverage area of ​​a failed base station, making it possible to determine whether neighboring base stations can continue communication in place of the failed base station. This makes it possible to identify failed base stations for which service interruption cannot be prevented even by using nearby neighboring base stations, and therefore makes it possible to determine the restoration priority of the failed base station.

[0009] The radio wave propagation estimating unit may calculate the arrival status of radio waves from the neighboring base stations in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station by using a radio wave simulation.

[0010] The restoration priority determination system of the present disclosure may further include a setting change unit that causes the radio wave propagation estimation unit to change a setting of the radio waves used by the neighboring base station. In this embodiment, the radio wave propagation estimation unit may estimate a state of arrival of radio waves from the neighboring base station in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station when the setting of the radio waves of the neighboring base station is changed.

[0011] In addition to the estimation result, the determination unit may determine the recovery priority of the failed base station based on at least one of the following: (i) the area in which the failed base station is installed; (ii) the purpose of communication at the failed base station; (iii) the usage status of the failed base station; (iv) the number of the failed base stations; and (v) the magnitude of the impact of the base station failure.

[0012] The above disclosures can be combined as much as possible.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to determine the failure base station that cannot prevent service interruption at nearby base stations, and therefore to determine the restoration priority, thereby presenting the failure base station that should be restored with priority to the monitor.

[0014] 1 shows an example of a system configuration of the present disclosure. 1 shows an example of a configuration of a recovery priority determination system. 2 shows an example of base station information. 3 shows an example of a recovery priority determination method of the present embodiment. 4 shows an example of a recovery priority list. 5 shows an example of a configuration of a recovery priority determination system. 6 shows an example of a configuration of a recovery priority determination system. 7 shows an example of peripheral information. 8 shows an example of a recovery priority determination method of the present embodiment. 9 shows an example of a configuration of a recovery priority determination system. 10 shows an example of communication information of an area included in the cover area of ​​base station 81A. 11 shows an example of a recovery priority determination method of the present embodiment. 12 shows an example of a recovery priority determination method of the present embodiment. 13 shows an example of a configuration of a recovery priority determination system. 14 shows an example of a recovery priority determination method of the present embodiment.

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown below. These implementation examples are merely illustrative, and the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Note that components with the same reference numerals in this specification and drawings indicate the same components.

[0016] 1 shows an example of a system configuration according to the present disclosure. The recovery priority determination system 91 according to the present disclosure is a system that performs maintenance on a plurality of base stations 81A to 81E that constitute a mobile network 98. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the base stations 81A to 81E, they will be referred to as base station 81. The mobile network 98 is any wireless network, such as a wireless network that uses radio waves that do not leak, such as millimeter waves and terahertz waves with a signal band of 10 GHz or less.

[0017] When at least one of the multiple base stations 81 constituting the mobile network 98 fails, an alarm indicating the failure of the base station 81 is transmitted. The restoration priority determination system 91 can detect the failure of the base station 81 based on this alarm. The restoration priority determination system 91 identifies the area where service is interrupted due to the failure of the base station 81, and determines the priority of the base station 81 to be restored. The determination result of the restoration priority determination system 91 is displayed on the display unit 92. A monitor of the mobile network 98 can visually check the display on the display unit 92 to understand the priority of the base station 81 to be restored.

[0018] In the following embodiment, as an example of a mobile network 98, an example is shown in which each base station 81 is connected to a master station 82, and thereby each base station 81 is connected to a core network 83. In this configuration, if one of the base stations 81 fails, the master station 82 can detect the failure of the base station 81 and transmit an alarm indicating the failure of the base station 81. The recovery priority determination system 91 of this embodiment can detect the failure of the base station 81 based on this alarm. Note that the configuration of the mobile network 98 and the method of transmitting the alarm are not limited. For example, each base station 81 may be connected to the master station 82 by wire or wirelessly.

[0019] When a base station 81 fails, the restoration priority determination system 91 disclosed herein determines whether another existing base station 81 can provide service to an area where service is unavailable due to the failure of the base station 81. The restoration priority of the failed base station 81 is determined by, for example, estimating the remaining impact when a setting change is made to the other existing base station 81 to cover the area where service is unavailable. This makes it possible to create a plan for carrying out maintenance work starting with the base station 81 with the highest restoration priority, with a limited number of maintenance workers.

[0020] 2 shows an example of the configuration of a recovery priority determination system. The recovery priority determination system 91 of this embodiment includes a failure detection unit 11, a determination unit 12, a radio wave propagation estimation unit 13, and a base station database 14. The base station database 14 stores base station information for each base station 81 included in a mobile network 98.

[0021] FIG. 3 shows an example of base station information. The base station information includes coverage area information and neighboring base station information. The coverage area information is geographical location information indicating the communication range of the base station 81. Hereinafter, the communication range determined for each base station 81 is referred to as the "coverage area." If a base station 81 fails, the coverage area of ​​the failed base station 81 becomes an area where service is unavailable. The neighboring base station information is identification information of base stations located near the base station 81. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, the neighboring base station information for base station 81A includes base stations 81B and 81E. Neighboring base stations can be determined in any manner, and although this embodiment shows an example in which neighboring base stations are predetermined by neighboring base station information, the determination unit 12 may determine neighboring base stations using location information of the base station 81.

[0022] The failure detection unit 11 detects a failure of the base station 81. For example, the failure detection unit 11 receives an alarm indicating a failure of the base station 81A. Hereinafter, the base station 81A may be referred to as the failed base station 81A. The radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 estimates radio wave propagation. For example, it estimates the arrival status of radio waves from base stations 81B and 81E other than the failed base station 81A in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station 81A detected by the failure detection unit 11. The determination unit 12 determines the recovery priority of the failed base station based on the estimation result of the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13, and creates a recovery priority list indicating the recovery priority of the failed base station. The display unit 92 displays the recovery priority list created by the determination unit 12.

[0023] A simulator that simulates radio wave propagation can be used for the estimation by the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. For example, the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 calculates the arrival status of radio waves from the neighboring base stations 81B and 81E of the failed base station 81A using a radio wave simulation.

[0024] 4 shows an example of the restoration priority determination method of this embodiment. The restoration priority determination method of this embodiment has steps S11 to S19. In step S11, the determination unit 12 makes an inquiry to the base station database 14 about the base station 81 that has received the alarm. For example, the determination unit 12 generates a token (inquiry message) for inquiring the base station database 14 about the base station information of the base station 81A. In step S12, the base station database 14 searches for the base station information in response to the inquiry and responds to the determination unit 12. As a result, the determination unit 12 obtains the coverage area information and neighboring base station information of the failed base station 81A. The coverage area information of this embodiment is A A and the neighboring base station information is base stations 81B and 81E.

[0025] In step S13, the determination unit 12 converts the coverage area information of the failed base station and the neighboring base station information into an input data format for the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. For example, the determination unit 12 converts the coverage area information A of the failed base station 81A into an input data format for the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. A The information of the base stations 81B and 81E is converted into an input data format for the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. In step S14, the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 estimates the propagation of radio waves from neighboring base stations in the service outage area. In this embodiment, A corresponds to the service outage area. A The arrival status of radio waves from base stations 81B and 81E in the area is estimated.

[0026] In step S15, the determination unit 12 determines whether the visibility of radio waves from neighboring base stations can be ensured in the service interruption area based on the estimation result by the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. For example, in the case of the cover area information A, A When radio waves from at least one of the base stations 81B and 81E reach each point within the coverage area, it is determined that the visibility of radio waves from the neighboring base stations can be ensured in the service interruption area. A If radio waves from both base stations 81B and 81E do not reach at least some points within the service interruption area, it is determined that radio waves from neighboring base stations are visible within the service interruption area.

[0027] If the line of sight of radio waves from the neighboring base station can be ensured in the service interruption area (Yes in step S15), the determination unit 12 determines that the recovery priority of the failed base station is low (step S16). On the other hand, if the line of sight of radio waves from the neighboring base station cannot be ensured in the service interruption area (No in step S15), the determination unit 12 determines that the recovery priority of the failed base station is high (step S17).

[0028] In step S18, the determination unit 12 creates a recovery priority list of failed base stations based on steps S15 to S17. This makes it possible to display a recovery priority list such as that shown in Fig. 5 on the display unit 15. The recovery priority list, for example, lists the status and recovery priority of each base station for each base station identifier. The recovery priority list may be arranged in descending order of recovery priority.

[0029] 6 shows another example of the recovery priority determination system of this embodiment. The recovery priority determination system 91 of this embodiment may further include a setting change unit 16. The setting change unit 16 changes the setting of the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. Specifically, the setting change unit 16 changes the setting of the radio wave used by the nearby base station in the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. Examples of the radio wave setting include the beam angle and radio wave intensity used by the base stations 81B and 81E to transmit and receive signals.

[0030] By changing the radio wave setting of the base station 81B or 81E, the visibility of the radio wave from the base station 81B or 81E is extended to the service interruption area A. A If the radio wave from the base station 81B or 81E can be secured in the service interruption area A, the determination unit 12 determines "Yes" in step S15. A If the capacity cannot be secured, the determination unit 12 determines No in step S15.

[0031] The setting change in the setting change unit 16 may be performed automatically according to predetermined change contents, or may be manually changeable. For example, the setting in the setting change unit 16 may be manually changeable via the input interface 17. This allows flexible testing based on the observer's judgment using the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13.

[0032] 7 shows an example of the configuration of a recovery priority determination system. The recovery priority determination system 91 of this embodiment further includes a map information database 22. The map information database 22 stores information about the vicinity of each base station 81 included in a mobile network 98.

[0033] An example of the surrounding area information is shown in Fig. 8. The surrounding area information includes information about the area where the base station 81 is installed. For example, the surrounding area information can be exemplified as follows: (i) roads such as general roads and expressways (ii) medical areas such as hospitals (iii) agricultural areas such as farmland (iv) industrial areas such as factories (v) commercial areas such as shopping malls and restaurants (vi) event areas such as concert venues

[0034] The surrounding information may include communications applications. (i) Roads An example of a communications application is autonomous driving. Autonomous driving requires the distribution of traffic data to assist autonomous driving. (ii) Medical Areas Examples of communications applications include remote surgery and remote medical treatment. In remote surgery, video is transmitted from a remote operating room, and a doctor operates a robotic arm while viewing the video to perform surgery in the remote operating room. In remote medical treatment, video and vital sign data of a remote patient are transmitted, and a doctor provides medical treatment while viewing the video and vital sign data. (iii) Agricultural Areas An example of a communications application is remote monitoring of agricultural machinery. In remote monitoring of agricultural machinery, video of the area around autonomously driving agricultural machinery is transmitted, and a monitoring device monitors the operating status of the agricultural machinery based on the video. (iv) Factories An example of a communications application is remote monitoring of machinery. In remote monitoring of machinery, data from various sensors in the factory and operation log data of the machinery are transmitted, and a monitoring device monitors the production status based on this data. (v) Commercial areas Examples of communication applications include the control of food delivery robots and air conditioning. In the case of food delivery robots, images of the area around the food delivery robot are transmitted, and the food delivery robot operates according to control signals. In the case of air conditioning control, images from cameras inside a store are transmitted, and the control device determines the number of people inside the store based on the images from the cameras, and automatically adjusts the strength of the air conditioning equipment. (vi) Event areas Examples of communication applications include interactive live music. In interactive live music, images from a concert venue are uploaded to the cloud, and audiences in various locations can watch them via the cloud.

[0035] The neighborhood information may be linked to industry information, such as (i) automobiles for roads, (ii) medical care for medical areas, (iii) agriculture for agricultural areas, (iv) manufacturing for factories, (v) food and beverage and retail for commercial areas, and (vi) leisure for event areas.

[0036] The peripheral information may be assigned a recovery priority for each region where a failed base station is installed, the communication purpose, and the industry. For example, applications such as autonomous driving and remote surgery are likely to involve human life, so the recovery priority is set to "high." For example, industries such as agriculture and manufacturing are involved in daily life and the production of daily necessities, and have a large short-term economic impact, so the recovery priority is set to "medium." For example, applications in commercial areas, such as food delivery robots and store front-entry counting, and the leisure industry are unlikely to involve human life and have a small short-term economic impact, so the recovery priority is set to "low."

[0037] FIG. 9 shows an example of the restoration priority determination method of this embodiment. The restoration priority determination method of this embodiment includes steps S21 to S23 between steps S11 and S13. In step S21, the determination unit 12 queries the map information database 22 using the location information of the base station 81 that received the alarm. For example, the determination unit 12 generates a token (query message) for querying the map information database 22 about the surrounding area information of the base station 81A. In step S22, the map information database 22 searches for the surrounding area information in response to the query and responds to the determination unit 12. As a result, the determination unit 12 acquires the surrounding area information of the failed base station 81A. In this embodiment, the surrounding area information of the base station 81A includes a restoration priority based on the area where the base station 81A is installed and its purpose. In step S23, the determination unit 12 determines whether the restoration priority defined in the surrounding area information of the base station 81 is "high." If the restoration priority is "high," the determination unit 12 proceeds to step S13 described in the first embodiment. If the recovery priority is not "high," the judgment unit 12 outputs the recovery priority of "medium" or "low" as determined by the surrounding information of the base station 81 (S24), and proceeds to step S18 described in the first embodiment.

[0038] A radio wave propagation simulation takes several hours. In this regard, in this embodiment, the simulation priority is determined based on information about the surrounding area of ​​the failed base station, and radio wave propagation simulation is performed for areas with high priority. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to prioritize recovery in areas where important uses are expected.

[0039] In this embodiment, the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 estimates only areas with a "high" priority, but the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 may estimate areas with a "medium" priority as needed after estimating areas with a "high" priority, or may estimate areas with a "low" priority after estimating areas with a "medium" priority. Furthermore, the recovery priority determination system 91 may derive the simulation priority in combination with other factors such as traffic.

[0040] 10 shows an example of the configuration of a recovery priority determination system. The recovery priority determination system 91 of this embodiment further includes a zone communication information database 24. The zone communication information database 24 stores communication information of any zone included in a mobile network 98. The communication information is any information that can be used to determine the communication volume in a zone, and examples of this information include the traffic volume and the number of connected terminals.

[0041] 11 shows an example of communication information for a zone included in the coverage area of ​​the base station 81A. The zone communication information database 24 stores information on the number of connected terminals within the zone and traffic volume, linked to time information. The traffic volume can be the overall traffic volume within the zone. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for ease of understanding, an example is shown in which the entire coverage area of ​​the base station 81A coincides with one zone.

[0042] FIG. 12 shows an example of the recovery priority determination method of this embodiment. The recovery priority determination method of this embodiment includes steps S31 to S33 between steps S11 and S13. In step S31, the determination unit 12 queries the area communication information database 24 using the location information of the base station 81 that received the alert. For example, the determination unit 12 generates a token (query message) for querying the area communication information database 24 for communication information about the area of ​​the base station 81A. In step S32, the area communication information database 24 searches for the area of ​​the base station 81A and outputs the traffic volume and the number of connected terminals in the corresponding area. As a result, the determination unit 12 acquires the traffic volume and the number of connected terminals in the area of ​​the base station 81A. In step S33, the determination unit 12 determines whether the acquired traffic volume and the number of connected terminals are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If they are equal to or greater than the threshold, the determination unit 12 proceeds to step S13 described in the first embodiment. If the recovery priority is less than the threshold, the determining unit 12 sets the recovery priority to "low" (S34), and the process proceeds to step S18 described in the first embodiment.

[0043] The radio wave propagation simulation takes several hours. In this regard, in this embodiment, the radio wave simulation is performed for areas where the traffic volume and the number of connected terminals exceed a threshold. Therefore, the recovery priority determination system 91 of this embodiment can prioritize recovery for areas with heavy communication volume according to the changes in the traffic volume and the number of connected terminals.

[0044] In this embodiment, the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 estimates only areas where the traffic volume and number of connected terminals are equal to or greater than a threshold value. However, after estimating areas where the traffic volume and number of connected terminals are equal to or greater than a threshold value, the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 may, if necessary, estimate areas where the traffic volume and number of connected terminals are less than a threshold value.

[0045] In this embodiment, the number of failed base stations is included in the communication information stored in the communication information database 24 for the area shown in Fig. 11, and an example will be described in which this information is used to determine the simulation priority. The configuration of a restoration priority determination system 91 is as shown in Fig. 10.

[0046] FIG. 13 shows an example of the restoration priority determination method of this embodiment. The restoration priority determination method of this embodiment includes steps S41 to S43 between steps S11 and S13. In step S41, the determination unit 12 queries the area communication information database 24 using the location information of the base station 81 that received the alarm. For example, the determination unit 12 generates a token (query message) for querying the area communication information database 24 for communication information in the area of ​​the base station 81A. In step S42, the area communication information database 24 searches for the number of failed base stations in the corresponding area and outputs the number of failed base stations. As a result, the determination unit 12 obtains the number of failed base stations in the area of ​​the base station 81A. In step S43, the determination unit 12 determines whether the obtained number of failed base stations is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If the number of failed base stations is equal to or greater than the threshold (Yes in S43), the determination unit 12 sets the restoration priority to "high" (S44) and proceeds to step S18 described in the first embodiment. If the number of failed base stations is less than the threshold value (No in S43), the determination unit 12 proceeds to step S13 described in the first embodiment.

[0047] When a natural disaster or the like occurs, many failures occur in the same area. Radio wave propagation simulation takes several hours. In this embodiment, when failure notifications are received from many surrounding base stations, the priority of restoration of the failed base station is determined to be high, and estimation by the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 is omitted. This allows this embodiment to quickly determine the restoration priority and display it on the display unit 15. Therefore, the restoration priority determination system 91 of this embodiment can prioritize restoration in the event of damage caused by a natural disaster or the like.

[0048] In this embodiment, for areas where the number of failed base stations is less than the threshold, estimation is performed by the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. Therefore, for areas where there are not many failures in the same area, a recovery priority list is created in the same way as in the first embodiment.

[0049] In this embodiment, in step S43, the priority may be derived in combination with other factors such as traffic.

[0050] 14 shows an example of the configuration of a recovery priority determination system. A recovery priority determination system 91 of this embodiment includes a map information database 22 and an area communication information database 24. In this embodiment, the communication information stored in the area communication information database 24 includes the number of base stations within the area, and the surrounding information stored in the map information database 22 includes the number of buildings in the area where the base station 81 is installed.

[0051] 15 shows an example of the recovery priority determination method of this embodiment. The recovery priority determination method of this embodiment includes steps S51 to S55 between steps S11 and S13. In step S51, the determination unit 12 uses the location information of the base station 81 that received the alarm to query the map information database 22 and the area communication information database 24. For example, the determination unit 12 generates a token (query message) for querying the map information database 22 about information about the vicinity of the base station 81A, and generates a token (query message) for querying the area communication information database 24 about communication information about the area of ​​the base station 81A. The query message to the map information database 22 includes a request for the number of buildings in the vicinity information. The query message to the area communication information database 24 includes a request for the number of base stations.

[0052] In step S52, the map information database 22 searches for surrounding information in response to the inquiry and responds to the determination unit 12. As a result, the determination unit 12 obtains the number of buildings in the area of ​​the failed base station 81A. In step S53, the area communication information database 24 searches for the number of connected terminals in the corresponding area and outputs the number of base stations. As a result, the determination unit 12 obtains the number of base stations in the area of ​​the failed base station 81A. In step S54, the determination unit 12 determines whether the number of base stations in the area of ​​the failed base station 81A is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. In step S55, the determination unit 12 determines whether the number of connected terminals in the area of ​​the failed base station 81A is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0053] In step S56, if the number of base stations in the area corresponding to the failed base station 81A is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (Yes in step S54) and the number of connected terminals in the area corresponding to the failed base station 81A is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (Yes in step S55), the determination unit 12 sets the recovery priority of the failed base station 81A to "high" and proceeds to step S18. If the number of base stations in the area corresponding to the failed base station 81A is less than the predetermined threshold (No in step S54) or if the number of connected terminals in the area corresponding to the failed base station 81A is less than the predetermined threshold (No in step S55), the determination unit 12 proceeds to step S13.

[0054] In areas with many buildings, it is expected that many base stations will be installed to ensure visibility. In areas with many base stations, it is expected that traffic demand will be high. Therefore, the impact of a base station failure will also be large. In this regard, in this embodiment, when the number of base stations and the number of buildings in the area reach or exceed a threshold, the priority of restoring the failed base station is determined to be high, and estimation by the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13 is omitted. As a result, in this embodiment, the restoration priority can be quickly determined and displayed on the display unit 15. Therefore, this embodiment can quickly restore areas that are heavily affected by a base station failure.

[0055] In this embodiment, for areas where the number of base stations or buildings is less than a threshold, estimation is performed by the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. Therefore, for areas where the impact of a base station failure is not so great, a recovery priority list is created in the same way as in the first embodiment.

[0056] In this embodiment, the number of base stations and the number of buildings may be any parameters that can determine the magnitude of the impact of a base station failure. In addition, in this embodiment, the priority may be derived in steps S54 and S55 by combining these with other factors such as traffic.

[0057] (Other Embodiments) In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the determination unit 12 uses the area in which the failed base station is installed, the communication purpose of the failed base station, the usage status of the failed base station (number of terminals, traffic volume), the number of failed base stations, the number of base stations, and the number of buildings in addition to the estimation result from the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13. Specific examples are as follows. First embodiment: The restoration priority of the failed base station is determined and displayed by estimating the propagation of radio waves from adjacent base stations. Second embodiment: The failed base station for which the estimation is made is determined based on surrounding information. Third embodiment: The failed base station for which the estimation is made is determined based on the communication volume within the area. Fourth embodiment: When failure notifications are received from multiple base stations in the same area, the restoration priority is determined to be high. This determination is made for failed base stations in other areas. Fifth embodiment: When the impact of the base station failure is large, the restoration priority is determined to be high. This determination is made for failed base stations in other areas.

[0058] The restoration priority determination system 91 is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can use various information to determine the restoration priority. For example, in each embodiment (particularly 1, 2, 4, and 5), the priority may be determined in combination with other factors such as traffic.

[0059] The determining unit 12 and the radio wave propagation estimating unit 13 may be provided in different devices. For example, the function of the radio wave propagation estimating unit 13 may be provided in a server.

[0060] In addition, although an example has been shown in which the base station database 14, the map information database 22, and the area communication information database 24 are provided in the recovery priority determination system 91, these databases do not need to be provided in the recovery priority determination system 91, and may be connected to the outside of the recovery priority determination system 91 via a communication network.

[0061] In addition, the recovery priority determination system 91 of the present disclosure, particularly the determination unit 12 and the radio wave propagation estimation unit 13, can also be realized by a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network.

[0062] 11: Failure detection unit 12: Determination unit 13: Radio wave propagation estimation unit 14: Base station database 16: Setting change unit 17: Input interface 22: Map information database 24: Area communication information database 81, 81A, 81B, 81C, 81D, 81E: Base station 82: Master station 83: Core network 91: Recovery priority determination system 92: Display unit 98: Mobile network

Claims

1. A restoration priority determination system comprising: a failure detection unit that detects a failure of at least one base station among a plurality of base stations; a radio wave propagation estimation unit that estimates the arrival status of radio waves from neighboring base stations other than the failed base station among the plurality of base stations in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station detected by the failure detection unit; and a determination unit that determines the restoration priority of the failed base station based on the estimation result by the radio wave propagation estimation unit.

2. The restoration priority determination system according to claim 1, wherein the radio wave propagation estimation unit calculates the arrival status of radio waves from the neighboring base stations in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station using a radio wave simulation.

3. The recovery priority determination system according to claim 2, further comprising a setting change unit that changes the radio wave settings used by the neighboring base station in the radio wave propagation estimation unit, wherein the radio wave propagation estimation unit estimates the arrival status of radio waves from the neighboring base station in the coverage area of ​​the failed base station when the radio wave settings of the neighboring base station are changed.

4. The recovery priority determination system of claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the recovery priority of the failed base station based on at least one of the following in addition to the estimation result: (i) the area in which the failed base station is installed; (ii) the purpose of communication at the failed base station; (iii) the usage status of the failed base station; (iv) the number of the failed base stations; and (v) the magnitude of the impact of the base station failure.

Citation Information

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