Network switching method, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a network handover method, apparatus, and non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and pertains to the field of communication technology. The network handover method includes: determining a network performance target for UE migration based on the direction of UE migration between a first network and a second network, wherein the operating frequency of the first network is higher than that of the second network; predicting relevant information for UE migration based on the network performance target; and using the relevant information to perform network handover for the UE in the first network or the second network. The technical solution of this disclosure can achieve balanced user distribution between networks, thereby improving communication performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a network switching method, a network switching device, and a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In the technical solution of 3.5G+2.1G (or 2.6G+700M) hybrid networking for the co-construction and sharing of 5G and 5G+SA (Stand Alone) networks, a network with 2×N broadcast beams (narrow beams) of TDD (Time Division Duplexing) 3.5G 200M (100M+100M) and a network with 1 broadcast beam (wide beam) of FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) 2.1G 50M can be used. Alternatively, a network with 2×N broadcast beams (narrow beams) of TDD 2.6G 160M (100M+60M) and a network with 1 broadcast beam (wide beam) of FDD 700M 30 / 40M can be used. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The inventors of this disclosure have discovered the following problems in the aforementioned related technologies: the lack of efficient scheduling methods between different networks and the uneven distribution of users among the networks result in poor communication performance.

[0004] In view of this, this disclosure proposes a network handover technology solution that can achieve balanced user distribution between networks, thereby improving communication performance.

[0005] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a network handover method is provided, comprising: determining a network performance target for UE (User Equipment) migration based on the direction of UE migration between a first network and a second network, wherein the operating frequency of the first network is higher than that of the second network; predicting relevant information for UE migration based on the network performance target; and performing network handover on the UE in the first network or the second network using the relevant information.

[0006] In some embodiments, determining the network performance target after UE migration based on the direction of UE migration between the first network and the second network includes: when the direction of UE migration is to migrate the UE from the second network to the first network, the network performance target is determined to maximize MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) capacity.

[0007] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes MU-MIMO-capable beam pairs of a shared base station of a first network. Network handover for a UE in a first network or a second network includes: migrating a first UE in a second beam of a shared base station of a second network to multiple first beams of a shared base station of a first network, wherein a second UE is included in multiple second beams before UE migration, and the width of the second beams is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams; and performing MU-MIMO pairing for the first UE and the second UE according to the beam pairs.

[0008] In some embodiments, determining the network performance target after UE migration based on the direction of UE migration between the first network and the second network includes: when the direction of UE migration is to migrate UEs from the first network to the second network, the network performance target is determined to maximize the combined spectral efficiency of the joint networking of the first network and the second network, wherein the combined spectral efficiency is determined based on the data rate and channel bandwidth.

[0009] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes the movement trajectory of the UE at a shared base station of the first network.

[0010] In some embodiments, network handover of a UE in a first network or a second network includes: determining a third UE that is located at the coverage edge of a shared base station in the first network and within the coverage of a shared base station in the second network as a UE to be migrated based on its movement trajectory; and migrating the UE to be migrated to a shared base station in the second network.

[0011] In some embodiments, the shared base station of the first network has a plurality of first beams, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of the second beam being greater than the width of any one of the plurality of first beams. Determining a UE to be migrated includes: determining the third UE as a UE to be migrated if the load of the first beam in which the third UE is located exceeds a threshold; migrating the UE to be migrated to the shared base station of the second network includes: migrating the UE to be migrated to the second beam.

[0012] In some embodiments, the network handover method further includes: determining the direction of UE migration based on at least one of the user distribution, beam occupancy, or load conditions of the shared base stations of the first network and the shared base stations of the second network.

[0013] In some embodiments, user distribution, beam occupancy, and load are determined based on network quality information, beam identification information, and resource occupancy information reported by the UE.

[0014] In some embodiments, network quality information includes at least one of RSRP (Reference Signal Receiving Power), SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio), or MR (Measurement Report); beam identification information includes the beam identification of the broadcast beam SSB (Synchronization Signal Block); and resource occupancy information includes the PRB (Physical Resource Block) occupancy rate of the shared base station of the first network and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the second network.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and operates in TDD (Time Division Duplexing) mode, and the shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams; the second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and operates in FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) mode, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of which is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams.

[0016] According to some other embodiments of this disclosure, a network switching apparatus is provided, comprising: a determining unit, configured to determine a network performance target for UE migration based on the direction of UE migration between a first network and a second network, wherein the operating frequency of the first network is higher than the operating frequency of the second network; a predicting unit, configured to predict relevant information for UE migration based on the network performance target; and a switching unit, configured to perform network switching on the UE in the first network or the second network using the relevant information.

[0017] In some embodiments, when the direction of UE migration is to migrate a UE from the second network to the first network, the determining unit determines the network performance objective as maximizing MU-MIMO capacity.

[0018] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes the beam pairs of the shared base station of the first network that are capable of MU-MIMO. The handover unit migrates the first UE in the second beam of the shared base station of the second network to multiple first beams of the shared base station of the first network. Before the UE migration, the multiple second beams include the second UE. The width of the second beam is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams. According to the beam pairs, the first UE and the second UE are paired in MU-MIMO.

[0019] In some embodiments, when the direction of UE migration is to migrate the UE from the first network to the second network, the determining unit determines the network performance objective as maximizing the combined spectral efficiency of the joint networking of the first network and the second network. The combined spectral efficiency is determined based on the data rate and channel bandwidth.

[0020] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes the movement trajectory of the UE at a shared base station of the first network.

[0021] In some embodiments, the determining unit determines a third UE that is located at the coverage edge of a shared base station of a first network and within the coverage of a shared base station of a second network as a UE to be migrated based on the movement trajectory; the handover unit then migrates the UE to be migrated to the shared base station of the second network.

[0022] In some embodiments, the shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam. The width of the second beam is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams. If the load of the first beam in which the third UE is located exceeds a threshold, the determining unit determines the third UE as a UE to be migrated. The handover unit then migrates the UE to be migrated to the second beam.

[0023] In some embodiments, the determining unit determines the direction of UE migration based on at least one of the user distribution, beam occupancy, or load conditions of the shared base stations of the first network and the shared base stations of the second network.

[0024] In some embodiments, user distribution, beam occupancy, and load are determined based on network quality information, beam identification information, and resource occupancy information reported by the UE.

[0025] In some embodiments, network quality information includes at least one of RSRP, SINR, or MR, beam identification information includes the beam identifier of the broadcast beam SSB, and resource occupancy information includes the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the first network and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the second network.

[0026] In some embodiments, the first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and operates in TDD mode, and the shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams; the second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and operates in FDD mode, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of which is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams.

[0027] According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, a network switching apparatus is provided, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the network switching method of any of the above embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory device.

[0028] According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium is provided having a computer program stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, implements the network switching method of any of the above embodiments.

[0029] In the above embodiments, the network performance target for optimization is determined based on the direction of UE migration, and UE migration is performed according to the network performance target. This enables balanced user distribution across networks, thereby improving communication performance. Attached Figure Description

[0030] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of this disclosure and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0031] This disclosure will become clearer with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description:

[0032] Figure 1 Flowcharts illustrating some embodiments of the network handover method of this disclosure;

[0033] Figure 2a , 2b Schematic diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the network switching method of this disclosure;

[0034] Figure 3 Flowcharts illustrating other embodiments of the network handover method of this disclosure;

[0035] Figure 4 Block diagrams showing some embodiments of the network switching apparatus of this disclosure;

[0036] Figure 5 Block diagrams showing other embodiments of the network switching apparatus of this disclosure;

[0037] Figure 6 Block diagrams illustrating further embodiments of the network switching apparatus of this disclosure are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0038] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0039] At the same time, it should be understood that, for ease of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to actual scale.

[0040] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit this disclosure or its application or use.

[0041] Techniques, methods, and equipment known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, they should be considered part of the specification.

[0042] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0043] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be discussed further in subsequent figures.

[0044] As mentioned earlier, the lack of efficient coordination and scheduling among the various frequency bands of 3.5G or 2.6G TDD and 2.1G or 700M FDD in hybrid networks leads to technical problems such as uneven user distribution and airspace load across different frequency bands for TDD and FDD, inability to pair users under the same beam, inability to further release the airspace MU (Multi-User) pairing capability, and failure to maximize spectrum utilization. These issues severely impact the overall performance and user experience of the TDD+FDD shared network system.

[0045] To address the aforementioned technical issues, this disclosure proposes a technical solution based on broadcast beams to enhance the performance of hybrid networking systems, thereby improving the overall system performance under 3.5G and 2.1G hybrid networking, enhancing spectrum efficiency and user experience, improving operation and maintenance optimization efficiency, and saving operation and maintenance optimization costs.

[0046] The technical solution disclosed herein can be applied to 3.5G+2.1G or 2.6G+700M hybrid networking schemes for the co-construction and sharing of 5G and 5G+SA networks. Based on broadcast beams, it enhances beam-level user balance between 3.5G and 2.1G shared base stations or shared cells, which helps improve the performance of 5G and 5G+SA TDD+FDD shared network systems, such as coverage performance and capacity, and improves spectrum efficiency and user experience.

[0047] In some embodiments, the technical solution disclosed herein aims to maximize MU-MIMO capacity or overall spectrum efficiency under hybrid networking. It continuously and dynamically adjusts TDD and FDD beam coordination strategies, providing flexible beam coordination and overall scheduling for users or traffic with different spatial distributions sharing a base station in a hybrid TDD and FDD network of multiple operators. This improves the overall performance of the TDD+FDD hybrid networking system, enhances operation and maintenance efficiency, and saves operation and maintenance costs, demonstrating significant deployment importance and practical value.

[0048] For example, the technical solution of this disclosure can be implemented through the following embodiments.

[0049] Figure 1 Flowcharts illustrating some embodiments of the network switching method of this disclosure are shown.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, in step 110, based on the UE between the first network and the second network, a network performance target for UE migration is determined, wherein the operating frequency of the first network is higher than that of the second network. For example, the operating frequencies and / or operating modes of the first network and the second network are different.

[0051] In some embodiments, the first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and operates in TDD mode, and the shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams; the second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and operates in FDD mode, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of which is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams.

[0052] For example, the first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and in TDD (2x100 MHz) mode, with its shared SA base station having 2×N narrow SSB beams. N is a positive integer, such as 7 or 8. The second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and in FDD (50 MHz) mode, with its shared SA base station having 1 wide SSB beam.

[0053] For example, a shared SA base station in a 3.5G TDD network and a shared SA base station in a 2.1G FDD network can be set up at the same site or not, but the two networks have overlapping coverage areas.

[0054] In some embodiments, the direction of UE migration is determined based on at least one of the user distribution, beam occupancy, or load conditions of the shared base stations of the first network and the shared base stations of the second network.

[0055] For example, user distribution, beam occupancy, and load are determined based on the network quality information, beam identification information, and resource occupancy information reported by the UE.

[0056] For example, network quality information includes at least one of RSRP, SINR, or MR; beam identification information includes the beam identification of the broadcast beam SSB; and resource occupancy information includes the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the first network and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the second network.

[0057] In some embodiments, the beam coordination strategy of the first network and the second network can be determined based on at least one of the user distribution, beam occupancy, or load of the shared base stations of the first network and the second network.

[0058] For example, beam coordination strategies may include at least one of the following: the migration direction of UEs located within the coverage areas of both beams, the network optimization objective after migration, or the migration processing method. The migration processing method may include MU-MIMO pairing and migration of inefficient UEs at distant locations.

[0059] In some embodiments, the network handover method is performed by a network handover device, such as a beam coordinator.

[0060] For example, the beam coordinator connects to the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network and the shared SA base station of the 2.1G FDD network, respectively. By using the RSRP, SINR, MR, Beam Id of the broadcast beam SSB and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared SA base station of the TDD and FDD networks reported by the UE, the user distribution, beam occupancy and load of the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network and the shared SA base station of the 2.1G FDD network are obtained respectively.

[0061] In some embodiments, when the direction of UE migration is to migrate UEs from the second network to the first network, the network performance objective is determined to maximize MU-MIMO capacity.

[0062] In some embodiments, when the direction of UE migration is to migrate UEs from the first network to the second network, the network performance objective is determined to maximize the combined spectral efficiency of the joint networking of the first network and the second network, and the combined spectral efficiency is determined based on the data rate and channel bandwidth.

[0063] In step 120, relevant information for UE migration is predicted based on network performance targets.

[0064] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes beam pairs of shared base stations in the first network that are capable of MU-MIMO.

[0065] For example, with the optimization objective of maximizing MU-MIMO capacity—Max(Cmu-mimo)—the beam pairs that can perform MU-MIMO in the shared SA base station of a 3.5G TDD network are predicted, where Cmu-mimo is the MU-MIMO capacity.

[0066] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes the movement trajectory of the UE at a shared base station of the first network.

[0067] For example, with the optimization objective of maximizing the overall spectrum efficiency of the hybrid TDD and FDD networks as Max(Rate / BW), the migration trajectory of edge UEs that can be migrated from the shared SA base station of the TDD network is predicted, where Rate is the data rate and BW is the channel bandwidth.

[0068] In step 130, the relevant information is used to perform network handover for the UE in the first network or the second network.

[0069] In some embodiments, a first UE in a second beam of a shared base station of a second network is migrated to multiple first beams of a shared base station of a first network. Before the UE migration, the multiple second beams include a second UE, and the width of the second beams is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams. MU-MIMO pairing is performed between the first UE and the second UE according to the beam pair.

[0070] For example, by using a beam coordinator, multiple UEs in one SSB wide beam of a shared SA base station in a 2.1G FDD network are switched to multiple SSB beams corresponding to N beams of a shared SA base station in a 3.5G TDD network, thus realizing the handover of UEs from FDD beams to TDD beams. MU-MIMO pairing is then performed between the newly switched UEs and the UEs originally existing in the TDD beam.

[0071] In the above embodiments, the MU-MIMO pairing capability of the shared SA base station in the TDD network is improved, beam coordination and overall scheduling are realized, the overall throughput, spectrum efficiency and user experience of the TDD+FDD shared network system are improved, and the operation and maintenance optimization efficiency is improved.

[0072] In some embodiments, based on the movement trajectory, a third UE located at the coverage edge of a shared base station of a first network and within the coverage of a shared base station of a second network is identified as a UE to be migrated; the UE to be migrated is then migrated to a shared base station of the second network.

[0073] In some embodiments, the shared base station of the first network has a plurality of first beams, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of the second beam being greater than the width of any one of the plurality of first beams. If the load on the first beam where the third UE is located exceeds a threshold, the third UE is identified as a UE to be migrated; migrating the UE to be migrated to the shared base station of the second network includes migrating the UE to be migrated to the second beam.

[0074] For example, by using a beam coordinator, multiple remotely inefficient UEs located in the heavily loaded narrow SSB beam of a shared SA base station in a 3.5G TDD network can be switched to the wide SSB beam of a shared SA base station in a 2.1G FDD network, thus achieving the handover of UEs from TDD beams to FDD beams. Remotely inefficient UEs can be UEs located at the edge of the 3.5G TDD network coverage area, whose beam load exceeds a threshold.

[0075] In the above embodiments, beam coordination and inefficient migration are achieved, allowing the shared SA base stations in the 3.5G TDD network to absorb and process more high-efficiency UEs, thus complementing the advantages of the large beam capacity of the shared SA base stations in the TDD network and the wide beam coverage of the shared SA base stations in the FDD network. This improves the overall system throughput, spectrum efficiency, and user experience of the TDD+FDD shared network system, and enhances operational optimization efficiency.

[0076] Figure 2a , 2b Schematic diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the network switching method of this disclosure.

[0077] like Figure 2a As shown, the first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and in TDD (2x100 MHz) mode, with its shared SA base station having 2×N narrow SSB beams. N is a positive integer, such as 7 or 8. The second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and in FDD (50 MHz) mode, with its shared SA base station having 1 wide SSB beam.

[0078] For example, a shared SA base station in a 3.5G TDD network and a shared SA base station in a 2.1G FDD network can be set up at the same site or not, but the two networks have overlapping coverage areas.

[0079] In some embodiments, MU-MIMO pairing can be implemented through the following examples.

[0080] The beam coordinator connects to the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network and the shared SA base station of the 2.1G FDD network, respectively. Based on the RSRP, SINR, MR, Beam Id of the broadcast beam SSB and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared SA base station of the TDD and FDD networks reported by the UE, the user distribution, beam occupancy and load of the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network and the shared SA base station of the 2.1G FDD network are obtained respectively.

[0081] With the optimization objective of maximizing MU-MIMO capacity—Max(Cmu-mimo)—we predict the number of beam pairs that can perform MU-MIMO in a shared SA base station of a 3.5G TDD network, where Cmu-mimo is the MU-MIMO capacity.

[0082] Multiple UEs (such as those in a single SSB wide beam of a shared SA base station in a 2.1G FDD network) are connected via a beam coordinator. Figure 2aIn the case where UE(i) and UE(j) switch from the 2.1G network to the 3.5G network, the UE switches to the N beams of the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network, which correspond to multiple SSB beams, realizing the UE's handover from the FDD beam to the TDD beam. MU-MIMO pairing is performed between the UE newly switched to the TDD beam and the UE that was originally in the TDD beam.

[0083] In the above embodiments, the MU-MIMO pairing capability of the shared SA base station in the TDD network is improved, beam coordination and overall scheduling are realized, the overall throughput, spectrum efficiency and user experience of the TDD+FDD shared network system are improved, and the operation and maintenance optimization efficiency is improved.

[0084] like Figure 2b As shown, the first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and in TDD (2x100 MHz) mode, with its shared SA base station having 2×N narrow SSB beams. N is a positive integer, such as 7 or 8. The second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and in FDD (50 MHz) mode, with its shared SA base station having 1 wide SSB beam.

[0085] For example, a shared SA base station in a 3.5G TDD network and a shared SA base station in a 2.1G FDD network can be set up at the same site or not, but the two networks have overlapping coverage areas.

[0086] In some embodiments, the migration of edge-inefficient UEs can be achieved through the following examples.

[0087] The beam coordinator connects to the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network and the shared SA base station of the 2.1G FDD network, respectively. By using the RSRP, SINR, MR, Beam Id of the broadcast beam SSB and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared SA base station of the TDD and FDD networks reported by the UE, the user distribution, beam occupancy and load of the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network and the shared SA base station of the 2.1G FDD network are obtained respectively.

[0088] With the optimization objective of maximizing the overall spectrum efficiency of the hybrid TDD and FDD networks -- Max(Rate / BW) -- we predict the migration trajectory of edge UEs that can be migrated from the shared SA base station in the TDD network. Rate is the data rate and BW is the channel bandwidth.

[0089] The beam coordinator is used to separate multiple inefficient far-point UEs (e.g., those in the heavily loaded SSB narrow beam of a shared SA base station in a 3.5G TDD network) from those in the shared SA base station. Figure 2bIn the example, UE(i') and UE(j') switch from the 3.5G network to the 2.1G network, and then switch to the SSB wide beam of the shared SA base station in the 2.1G FDD network, thus realizing the UE's handover from the TDD beam to the FDD beam. Inefficient UEs at distant locations can be UEs located at the edge of the 3.5G TDD network coverage area, whose beam load exceeds a threshold.

[0090] In the above embodiments, beam coordination and inefficient migration are achieved, allowing the shared SA base stations in the 3.5G TDD network to absorb and process more high-efficiency UEs, thus complementing the advantages of the large beam capacity of the shared SA base stations in the TDD network and the wide beam coverage of the shared SA base stations in the FDD network. This improves the overall system throughput, spectrum efficiency, and user experience of the TDD+FDD shared network system, and enhances operational optimization efficiency.

[0091] Figure 3 Flowcharts illustrating some other embodiments of the network switching method of this disclosure are shown.

[0092] like Figure 3 As shown, in step 310, the shared SA base station of the 3.5G TDD network (such as 64 / 32TR) and the shared SA base station of the 2.1GFDD network (such as 8TR / 4TR) are powered on and their parameters are initialized respectively.

[0093] In step 320, the beam coordinator of the shared SA base station connecting the TDD network and the shared SA base station connecting the FDD network is started and its parameters are initialized.

[0094] In step 330, the beam coordinator obtains the user distribution, beam occupancy, and load status under the TDD network and the FDD shared SA base station based on the beam ID of RSRP, SINR, MR, SSB, and PRB occupancy rate of the TDD network and FDD shared SA base station reported by the UE.

[0095] In step 340, based on the user distribution, beam occupancy, and load conditions obtained in step 330, a beam coordination strategy for the TDD network and the FDD network is selected. The beam coordination strategy may aim to maximize MU-MIMO capacity or maximize overall spectral efficiency.

[0096] If the beam coordination strategy aims to maximize MU-MIMO capacity and performs MU-MIMO pairing, proceed to step 350; if the beam coordination strategy aims to maximize overall spectral efficiency and performs inefficient UE migration at far points, proceed to step 360.

[0097] In step 350, the beam coordinator, with the optimization objective of maximizing MU-MIMO capacity, predicts the beam pairs that the shared SA base stations of the TDD network can perform MU-MIMO.

[0098] In step 355, the beam coordinator switches multiple UEs from one wide beam of the shared SA base station in the FDD network to multiple beams from N beams of the shared SA base station in the TDD network, thus completing the UE handover from the FDD beam to the TDD beam.

[0099] In step 358, the beam coordinator performs MU-MIMO pairing between the UEs newly switched to the TDD beam and the UEs originally in the TDD beam.

[0100] This can enhance the MU-MIMO pairing capability of TDD-shared SA base stations and improve the overall performance of the TDD+FDD shared network system.

[0101] In step 360, the beam coordinator, with the optimization objective of maximizing the overall spectral efficiency of the hybrid TDD and FDD networks, predicts the migration trajectory of the edge UE that can be migrated from the shared SA base station of the TDD network.

[0102] In step 365, the beam coordinator switches multiple remote, inefficient UEs in the narrow beam of the shared SA base station of the TDD network, which is heavily loaded, to the wide beam of the shared SA base station of the FDD network, thus completing the UE handover from the TDD beam to the FDD beam.

[0103] In step 368, the beam coordinator switches inefficient UEs from the shared SA base station beam of the TDD network to the shared SA base station beam of the FDD network, thereby complementing the large capacity advantage of the TDD shared SA base station beam and the wide coverage advantage of the FDD shared SA base station beam, and improving the overall performance of the TDD+FDD shared system.

[0104] Repeat steps 330 to 368 continuously, and dynamically adjust the TDD and FDD beam coordination strategy based on the user distribution, beam occupancy and load under the shared SA base station of the TDD and FDD networks.

[0105] This approach can improve the overall performance (throughput, spectrum efficiency, and user experience) of the TDD+FDD shared network system, increase operation and maintenance efficiency, and save operation and maintenance costs, thus having significant deployment implications and practical value.

[0106] In some embodiments, a method for improving the performance of a hybrid networking system based on broadcast beams is proposed. Based on the RSRP, SINR, MR, Beam Id of the broadcast beam SSB, and the PRB occupancy rates of TDD / FDD shared SA base stations under 3.5G and 2.1G hybrid networking reported by the UE, the user distribution, beam occupancy, and load of the 3.5G TDD shared SA base stations and the 2.1G FDD shared SA base stations are obtained respectively. With the optimization objective of maximizing MU-MIMO capacity or maximizing overall spectrum efficiency under hybrid networking, the 3.5G TDD / 2.1G FDD beam coordination strategy is continuously and dynamically adjusted, providing flexible beam coordination and overall scheduling for the different spatial distributions of users or traffic at TDD+FDD shared SA base stations of multiple operators.

[0107] This improves the overall performance (throughput, spectrum efficiency, and user experience) of the TDD+FDD shared network system, enhances operation and maintenance efficiency, and saves operation and maintenance costs, making it of great significance and practical value for deployment.

[0108] In some embodiments, the technical solutions disclosed herein can be used in the case of a 3.5G TDD network + 2.1G FDD network, or in a TDD+FDD shared network system such as a 2.6G TDD network + 700M FDD network.

[0109] In the above embodiments, the TDD / FDD beam coordination strategy is adjusted in real time to improve the overall performance of the TDD+FDD shared network system, enhance spectrum efficiency and user experience, and is highly targeted towards the evolution of wireless networks towards 5G+. It improves the completeness and flexibility of the TDD / FDD shared SA base station and enhances access network performance; based on broadcast beams, it has low implementation complexity, good versatility, and strong universality; it only involves modifications on the base station side and not on the terminal side, making it easy to implement and promote the solution.

[0110] By combining the RSRP, SINR, MR, Beam Id of the broadcast beam SSB, and PRB occupancy rate of the TDD / FDD shared SA base station reported by the UE, the user distribution, beam occupancy, and load under the TDD / FDD shared SA base station can be obtained. Then, with the help of a beam coordinator and beam coordination strategies, TDD / FDD beam coordination can be dynamically achieved. This enables collaborative scheduling and beam coordination of TDD+FDD, improving the overall throughput and spectrum efficiency of the TDD+FDD shared network system. It also enables dynamic switching from FDD beams to TDD beams, improving the MU-MIMO pairing capability of the TDD shared SA base station. Furthermore, it achieves dynamic switching from TDD beams to FDD beams, complementing the advantages of large beam capacity of the TDD shared SA base station and wide beam coverage of the FDD shared SA base station, thus improving the overall performance of the TDD+FDD shared network system. Finally, it improves operation and maintenance optimization efficiency, saves operation and maintenance optimization costs, and enhances user experience.

[0111] In some embodiments, a method is used to combine the RSRP, SINR, MR, Beam Id of the broadcast beam SSB, and PRB occupancy rate of the TDD / FDD shared SA base station reported by the UE in real time to obtain the user distribution, beam occupancy, and load status under the TDD / FDD shared SA base station. Based on the user distribution, beam occupancy, and load status under the TDD / FDD shared SA base station, strategies, procedures, and methods for TDD / FDD beam coordination and overall scheduling under hybrid networking can be dynamically implemented.

[0112] This disclosure proposes the functions, processes, and methods of a newly added beam coordinator; processes and methods for realizing dynamic switching from FDD beams to TDD beams to improve the MU-MIMO pairing capability of TDD shared SA base stations; processes and methods for realizing dynamic switching from TDD beams to FDD beams to achieve complementary advantages of large beam capacity of TDD shared SA base stations and wide beam coverage of FDD shared SA base stations; and methods for dynamically realizing TDD / FDD beam coordination and overall scheduling to improve the overall performance of TDD+FDD shared network systems, enhance system flexibility and universality, improve spectrum efficiency and user experience, improve the operation and maintenance optimization efficiency of TDD / FDD shared networks under hybrid networking, and save operation and maintenance optimization costs.

[0113] Figure 4 Block diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the network switching apparatus of this disclosure are shown.

[0114] like Figure 4As shown, the network switching device 4 includes: a determining unit 41, used to determine the network performance target of UE migration based on the direction of UE migration between the first network and the second network, wherein the operating frequency of the first network is higher than that of the second network; a predicting unit 42, used to predict relevant information for UE migration based on the network performance target; and a switching unit 43, used to perform network switching on the UE in the first network or the second network using the relevant information.

[0115] In some embodiments, when the direction of UE migration is to migrate a UE from the second network to the first network, the determining unit 41 determines the network performance objective as maximizing MU-MIMO capacity.

[0116] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes the beam pairs of the shared base station of the first network that are capable of MU-MIMO. The switching unit 43 migrates the first UE in the second beam of the shared base station of the second network to multiple first beams of the shared base station of the first network. Before the UE migration, the multiple second beams include the second UE. The width of the second beam is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams. According to the beam pairs, the first UE and the second UE are paired in MU-MIMO.

[0117] In some embodiments, when the direction of UE migration is to migrate the UE from the first network to the second network, the determining unit 41 determines the network performance target as maximizing the combined spectral efficiency of the joint networking of the first network and the second network. The combined spectral efficiency is determined based on the data rate and channel bandwidth.

[0118] In some embodiments, the relevant information includes the movement trajectory of the UE at a shared base station of the first network.

[0119] In some embodiments, the determining unit 41 determines a third UE that is located at the coverage edge of the shared base station of the first network and within the coverage of the shared base station of the second network as a UE to be migrated based on the movement trajectory; the switching unit 43 migrates the UE to be migrated to the shared base station of the second network.

[0120] In some embodiments, the shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam. The width of the second beam is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams. If the load of the first beam in which the third UE is located exceeds a threshold, the determining unit 41 determines the third UE as a UE to be migrated. The switching unit 43 migrates the UE to be migrated to the second beam.

[0121] In some embodiments, the determining unit 41 determines the direction of UE migration based on at least one of the user distribution, beam occupancy, or load conditions of the shared base stations of the first network and the shared base stations of the second network.

[0122] In some embodiments, user distribution, beam occupancy, and load are determined based on network quality information, beam identification information, and resource occupancy information reported by the UE.

[0123] In some embodiments, network quality information includes at least one of RSRP, SINR, or MR, beam identification information includes the beam identifier of the broadcast beam SSB, and resource occupancy information includes the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the first network and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the second network.

[0124] In some embodiments, the first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and operates in TDD mode, and the shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams; the second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and operates in FDD mode, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of which is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams.

[0125] Figure 5 Block diagrams illustrating other embodiments of the network switching apparatus of this disclosure are shown.

[0126] like Figure 5 As shown, the network switching device 5 of this embodiment includes a memory 51 and a processor 52 coupled to the memory 51. The processor 52 is configured to execute the network switching method in any embodiment of this disclosure based on instructions stored in the memory 51.

[0127] The memory 51 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory stores, for example, the operating system, application programs, a boot loader, a database, and other programs.

[0128] Figure 6 Block diagrams illustrating further embodiments of the network switching apparatus of this disclosure are shown.

[0129] like Figure 6 As shown, the network switching device 6 of this embodiment includes a memory 610 and a processor 620 coupled to the memory 610. The processor 620 is configured to execute the network switching method of any of the foregoing embodiments based on instructions stored in the memory 610.

[0130] The memory 610 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory stores, for example, the operating system, application programs, a boot loader, and other programs.

[0131] The network switching device 6 may also include an input / output interface 630, a network interface 640, and a storage interface 650. These interfaces 630, 640, and 650, as well as the memory 610 and processor 620, can be connected, for example, via a bus 660. The input / output interface 630 provides a connection interface for input / output devices such as a monitor, mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, microphone, and speakers. The network interface 640 provides a connection interface for various networked devices. The storage interface 650 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards and USB flash drives.

[0132] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable non-transitory storage media containing computer-usable program code, including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.

[0133] This concludes the detailed description of the network switching method, network switching apparatus, and non-volatile computer-readable storage medium according to the present disclosure. To avoid obscuring the concept of this disclosure, some details known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art will fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0134] The methods and systems of this disclosure may be implemented in many ways. For example, they may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. The above-described order of steps for the methods is for illustrative purposes only, and the steps of the methods of this disclosure are not limited to the order specifically described above unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, in some embodiments, this disclosure may also be implemented as a program recorded on a recording medium, the program including machine-readable instructions for implementing the methods according to this disclosure. Thus, this disclosure also covers recording media storing programs for performing the methods according to this disclosure.

[0135] While specific embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail by way of example, those skilled in the art should understand that the examples are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A network handover method, comprising: Based on the direction of user equipment (UE) migration between the first network and the second network, the network performance target for UE migration is determined, wherein the operating frequency of the first network is higher than that of the second network; Based on the network performance targets, predict relevant information for the UE migration; Using the aforementioned relevant information, a network handover is performed on the UE in the first network or the second network. The step of determining the network performance target for UE migration based on the direction of UE migration between the first network and the second network includes: When the direction of UE migration is to migrate UEs from the second network to the first network, the network performance objective is determined to maximize multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) capacity. When the direction of UE migration is to migrate UEs from the first network to the second network, the network performance objective is determined to maximize the overall spectrum efficiency of the joint networking of the first network and the second network, wherein the overall spectrum efficiency is determined based on the data rate and channel bandwidth.

2. The network handover method of claim 1, wherein, When the direction of UE migration is to migrate a UE from the second network to the first network, the relevant information includes the beam pairs of the shared base stations of the first network that can perform MU-MIMO.

3. The network handover method according to claim 2, wherein, The network handover of the UE in the first network or the second network includes: The first UE in the second beam of the shared base station of the second network is migrated to multiple first beams of the shared base station of the first network. Before the UE migration is performed, the multiple first beams include the second UE, and the width of the second beam is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams. According to the beam pair, MU-MIMO pairing is performed between the first UE and the second UE.

4. The network handover method according to claim 1, wherein, When the direction of UE migration is to migrate a UE from the first network to the second network, the relevant information includes the movement trajectory of the UE at the shared base station of the first network.

5. The network handover method of claim 4, wherein, The network handover of the UE in the first network or the second network includes: Based on the movement trajectory, a third UE located at the coverage edge of the shared base station of the first network and within the coverage of the shared base station of the second network is identified as a UE to be migrated. The UE to be migrated is migrated to the shared base station of the second network.

6. The network handover method of claim 5, wherein, The shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams, and the shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of which is greater than the width of any one of the multiple first beams. The UEs identified as to be migrated include: If the load on the first beam where the third UE is located exceeds a threshold, the third UE will be identified as the UE to be migrated. Migrating the UE to be migrated to the shared base station of the second network includes: The UE to be migrated is migrated to the second beam.

7. The network handover method according to any one of claims 1-3, further comprising: The direction of UE migration is determined based on at least one of the following: user distribution, beam occupancy, or load of the shared base stations of the first network and the second network.

8. The network handover method of claim 7, wherein, The user distribution, beam occupancy, and load are determined based on the network quality information, beam identification information, and resource occupancy information reported by the UE.

9. The network handover method of claim 8, wherein, The network quality information includes at least one of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), or Measurement Report (MR). The beam identification information includes the beam identifier of the Broadcast Beam Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). The resource occupancy information includes the Physical Resource Module (PRB) occupancy rate of the shared base station of the first network and the PRB occupancy rate of the shared base station of the second network.

10. The network handover method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein: The first network operates at a frequency of 3.5 GHz and operates in a time-division duplex (TDD) mode. The shared base station of the first network has multiple first beams. The second network operates at a frequency of 2.1 GHz and operates in a frequency division duplex (FDD) mode. The shared base station of the second network has a second beam, the width of which is greater than the width of any one of the plurality of first beams.

11. A network switching device, comprising: The determining unit is configured to determine the network performance target for UE migration based on the direction of UE migration between the first network and the second network, wherein the operating frequency of the first network is higher than the operating frequency of the second network; The prediction unit is used to predict relevant information for the UE migration based on the network performance target. The handover unit is used to perform network handover for the UE in the first network or the second network using the relevant information. Where the direction of UE migration is to migrate the UE from the second network to the first network, the determining unit determines the network performance objective as maximizing the multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) capacity. When the direction of UE migration is to migrate the UE from the first network to the second network, the determining unit determines the network performance target as maximizing the overall spectrum efficiency of the joint networking of the first network and the second network, wherein the overall spectrum efficiency is determined based on the data rate and channel bandwidth.

12. A network switching device, comprising: Memory; and A processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute the network switching method of any one of claims 1-10 based on instructions stored in the memory.

13. A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the network switching method according to any one of claims 1-10.

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