Systems and methods for availability-driven channel allocation for citizens broadband radio service

Abstract

A method (1400) is provided for availability-driven channel selection for allocation to a wireless carrier of at least one channel in a Citizens Broadband Radio Service band, CBRS band, by a network node (810) associated with a network operator. The method includes determining (1402), based on historical data, a predicted availability of the at least one channel for use in the CBRS band during a time period. The historical data includes at least one value associated with an availability of the at least one channel during at least a previous observation time period. The previous observation time period occurs before the time period.

Description

[0001] SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AVAILABILITY-DRIVEN CHANNEL ALLOCATION

[0002] FOR CITIZENS BROADBAND RADIO SERVICE

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The present disclosure relates, in general, to wireless communications and, more particularly, systems and methods for availability-driven channel allocation for Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is a dedicated spectrum from 3.55 GHz to 3.7 GHz, which represents approximately 16% expansion of licensed spectrum below 4 GHz in the United States. 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) has defined B48 (LTE) and n48 (NR) for CBRS as Time Division Duplex (TDD) band. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved it for shared commercial use with the incumbent military radars and satellite ground stations.

[0007] In the recent years, CBRS has been the catalyst for innovation to expand cellular usage beyond enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) in the United States.

[0008] Combined with the commercial rollout of Priority Access Licenses (PAL), CBRS network deployments are rapidly gaining momentum and proliferating across thousands of sites across the country, which enable use cases such as Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), mobile network densification, and private cellular networks.

[0009] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved this spectrum for shared commercial use with the incumbent military radars and satellite ground stations.

[0010] The three-tier sharing paradigm coordinates the spectrum access usage on CBRS band as follows:

[0011] • Tier # 1 : Incumbent Access

[0012] • The highest priority tier, reserved for federal incumbent users like military, fixed satellite service, or wireless Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

[0013] • Interference protection from all lower tier users

[0014] • Tier #2: PAL • Second priority tier, allocated on a county basis

[0015] • PAL users are protected from interference of other PAL and lower tier users

[0016] • Tier #3: General Authorized Access (GAA)

[0017] • Lowest priority tier, open for all users, without license

[0018] • No interference protection from other users

[0019] Each tier accepts interference from tiers above and is protected from tiers below. When detecting the interference from higher priority tier users, Spectrum Access System (SAS) instructs for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device (CBSD) to cease transmission or move to another unoccupied frequency range. However, the SAS can allocate unused PAL spectrum to GAA users on a dynamic basis.

[0020] There currently exist certain challenges, however. For example, due to the dynamic nature of CBRS spectrum assignment, channels allocated to certain CBSD(s) are a result of an external SAS and not under direct control of network operator.

[0021] An operator configures the CBSD using corresponding configuration parameters to utilize available CBRS channels. However, availability of CBRS channels to the CBSD might differ from the desired maximum availability that would correspond to the optimal operator’s network planning and chosen configurations, because the spectrum availability is not under operator’s control, but rather under control of external service provided by SAS.

[0022] In addition, the spectrum allocation process depends on the conditions in the CBSDs environment. For example, an appearance of Tier 1 users operating on an affected channel causes the allocation to be revoked or the allocation not to be allowed at all for a channel during ongoing activity from the highest priority tier on that channel. Information about the presence of the highest priority user belonging to Tier 1 operating on an affected channel is neither known to the CBSD nor to the Domain Proxy (DP), but it is under control of SAS. Based on that information, SAS controls availability of a certain channel.

[0023] Volatility in the spectrum allocation process and channel availability provided by SAS may lead to an undesired outcome for the operator. For example, it may lead to very low overall utilization of spectrum or to the possible lost opportunity to utilize bandwidth and conduct channel allocation process in DP more efficiently.

[0024] Low availability of CBRS channels in certain areas at certain times is an inherent problem with shared spectrum and prevents optimal usage of affected channels causing low reliability of Primary Cells (PCells), cell downtime during reconfiguration, degraded Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in “flickering” cells that frequently change the state of transmitting on frequencies affected by the frequent change of availability state. The problem becomes even bigger when a cell is configured as a block of several CBRS channels in order to increase available bandwidth and offer higher capacity. In case only one channel becomes unavailable, the entire configuration becomes unavailable, although the operator would be able to utilize available bandwidth even without unavailable channels, either as a PCell or Secondary Cell (SCell) with less bandwidth available.

[0025] Currently, there are no mechanisms available for the operator to monitor CBRS channel availability patterns.

[0026] SUMMARY

[0027] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are provided for availability-driven channel allocation of at least one channel for CBRS. According to certain embodiments, for example, historical data relating to channel availability may be collected and used for assigning channels to the Cells in CBSDs.

[0028] According to certain embodiments, a method is provided for availability-driven channel selection for allocation to a wireless carrier of at least one channel in a CBRS band by a network node associated with a network operator. The method includes determining, based on historical data, a predicted availability of the at least one channel for use in the CBRS band during a time period. The historical data includes at least one value associated with an availability of the at least one channel during at least a previous observation time period. The previous observation time period occurs before the time period.

[0029] According to certain embodiments, a network node is provided for availability-driven channel selection for allocation to a wireless carrier of at least one channel in a CBRS band by a network node associated with a network operator. The network node is adapted to determine, based on historical data, a predicted availability of the at least one channel for use in the CBRS band during a time period. The historical data includes at least one value associated with an availability of the at least one channel during at least a previous observation time period. The previous observation time period occurs before the time period.

[0030] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage (s). For example, certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantages such as providing observability of CBRS channel availability patterns, enhancing channel allocation to minimize negative impact of low channel availability, enhancing control over bandwidth utilization, optimizing use of available CBRS resources, and providing network operators with the ability to effectively discuss business objectives with SAS vendor(s), FCC, and protect investments in CBRS licenses and infrastructure.

[0031] As another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of providing a preemptive solution that leverages a machine learning forecasting model to increase accuracy of availability patterns. Additionally or alternatively, the preemptive solution may allow an operator to apply policies and / or configuration changes to avoid KPI degradations (cell downtime, etc.) due to channel unavailability in a timely manner. Further, the preemptive solution may additionally or alternatively provide improved planning of PCell versus SCell distribution based on known channel availability patterns and, thus, provide improved KPIs for mobility enabled cells. As another example, the preemptive solution may provide increased accuracy for utilization insight of PAL licenses and investment protection.

[0032] As still another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of providing a reactive solution that makes immediate results available with no historical data needed. The reactive solution may, additionally or alternatively prevent channel “flickering” for channels that can constantly switch between available and unavailable. As another example, certain embodiments may feed data to the preemptive solution to boost accuracy when the reactive and preemptive solutions are used in parallel.

[0033] As still another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of providing a SAS enhancement. SAS is a CBRS architecture component that possesses information about the availability of all channels all of the time, which is not the case with CBSD. Therefore, the information about the availability pattern based on historical data on SAS provides highest accuracy. Thus, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling the SAS to serve multiple CBSDs, input towards CBSD’s related to the channel availability probability shall increase substantially preemptive solution on CBSD, if existed or provide valuable data to CBSDs through DP or even without DP.

[0034] As still another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling a cell downgrade. Specifically, parts of spectrum that are likely to be preempted may be utilized by capacity cells, thus allowing maximizing spectrum usage while at the same time minimizing service disruptions. As still another example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of enabling cell split. For example, frequently preempted, less stable channels may be isolated into separate cell. As such overall cell reliability may be improved.

[0035] Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages.

[0036] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0038] FIGURE 1 illustrates a CBRS architecture overview, according to certain embodiments;

[0039] FIGURE 2 illustrates example interactions between a reactive, preemptive, and SAS enhancement related solutions, according to certain embodiments;

[0040] FIGURE 3 illustrates an example preemptive solution, according to certain embodiments;

[0041] FIGURE 4 illustrates an example reactive solution, according to certain embodiments;

[0042] FIGURE 5 illustrates an example preemptive process loop, according to certain embodiments;

[0043] FIGURE 6 illustrates an example cell downgrade feature, according to certain embodiments;

[0044] FIGURE 7 illustrates an example cell split for SCell, according to certain embodiments;

[0045] FIGURE 8 illustrates an example communication system, according to certain embodiments;

[0046] FIGURE 9 illustrates an example UE, according to certain embodiments;

[0047] FIGURE 10 illustrates an example network node, according to certain embodiments;

[0048] FIGURE 11 illustrates a block diagram of a host, according to certain embodiments;

[0049] FIGURE 12 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to certain embodiments;

[0050] FIGURE 13 illustrates a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection, according to certain embodiments; and

[0051] FIGURE 14 illustrates an example method for availability-driven channel allocation of at least one channel for CBRS by a network node associated with a network operator, according to certain embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0053] As used herein, ‘node’ can be a network node or a UE. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), etc.), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Operations Support System (OSS), Self Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g. E- SMLC), etc.

[0054] Another example of a node is user equipment (UE), which is a non-limiting term and refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and / or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Unified Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc.

[0055] In some embodiments, generic terminology, “radio network node” or simply “network node (NW node)”, is used. It can be any kind of network node which may comprise base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNodeB (gNB), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), etc.

[0056] The term radio access technology (RAT), may refer to any RAT such as, for example, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRA), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, NR, 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the terms node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

[0057] The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of DL physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as PSS, SSS, CSI-RS, DMRS signals in SS / PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), CRS, PRS etc. RS may be periodic e.g. RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g. 20 ms, 40 ms etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols. One or multiple SSBs are transmit in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g. serving cell’s SFN) etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity e.g. 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. Examples of UL physical signals are reference signal such as SRS, DMRS etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g. data, control etc. Examples of physical channels are PBCH, NPBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, sPUCCH, sPDSCH, sPUCCH, sPUSCH, MPDCCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, E-PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, NPUSCH, etc.

[0058] The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, system frame number (SFN) cycle, hyper-SFN (H-SFN) cycle etc.

[0059] As used herein, Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device (CBSD) refers to fixed Stations, or networks of such stations, that operate on a Priority Access or General Authorized Access basis in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service consistent with Title 47 CFR Part 96 [n.8] . For CBSDs which comprise multiple nodes or networks of nodes, CBSD requirements apply to each node even if network management and communication with the SAS is accomplished via a single network interface. See, WINNF-TS-0016, SAS to CBSD Technical Specification, vl.1.0.

[0060] As used herein, CBSD Antenna refers to the radiating element(s) ofthe CBSD. Each CBSD has one CBSD Antenna. Note that the CBSD’s antenna may be instantiated with multiple physical antennas (e.g., an antenna array for MIMO operation), but those antennas must be transmitting one aggregate waveform collectively from a single geolocation, and with a total transmit power that conforms to all the CBSD’s registration parameters and authorized transmit power levels provided by the SAS in its active Grants (e.g., maximum allowable EIRP). See, WINNF-TS-0016, SAS to CBSD Technical Specification, vl.1.0.

[0061] As used herein, Domain Proxy (DP) refers to an entity engaging in communications with the SAS on behalf of multiple individual CBSDs or networks of CBSDs. The Domain Proxy can also provide a translational capability to interface legacy radio equipment in the 3650-3700 MHz band with a SAS to ensure compliance with Part 96 rules [n.8] . See, WINNF-TS-0016, SAS to CBSD Technical Specification, vl.1.0.

[0062] As used herein, an end user device refers to a device authorized and controlled by an authorized CBSD. These devices may not be used as intermediate service links or to provide service over the frequencies listed in section 96.11 to other End User Devices or CBSDs.

[0063] As used herein, Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) refers to a system that detects and communicates the presence of a signal from an Incumbent User to an SAS to facilitate shared spectrum access consistent with sections 96.15 and 96.67.

[0064] As used herein, a grant refers to the authorization provided by a SAS to a CBSD, subject to a Heartbeat exchange, to transmit using specified operating parameters. Grants are identified by a unique Grant identifier. Once issued, a Grant’s operating parameters are never changed; if new or modified operating parameters are required, then a new Grant must be obtained. The Grant's operating parameters are maximum EIRP and Channel. A Grant can be in different states as defined in section 7. See, WINNF-TS-0016, SAS to CBSD Technical Specification, vl.1.0.

[0065] As used herein, Spectrum Access System (SAS) refers to a system that authorizes and manages use of spectrum for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service in accordance with subpart F of the FCC Rules. SAS is not under control of network operator, but SAS is an overall CBRS architecture element that is responsible for bandwidth allocation, therefore the observability of the results of actions performed by SAS over network operator’s CBRS infrastructure is of a special interest for operator.

[0066] As used herein, Managing SAS refers to the SAS that serves a Registered Owner of a PAL and serves the CBSDs on the Registered Owner’s PPA’s Cluster List or serves the CBSDs on a valid lessee’s PPA’s Cluster List. This Managing SAS is the SAS which accepts, checks, and validates a PPA claim and which issues a PPA-ID for a valid PPA, and which shares the PPA-ID and the PPA vertex points with all SASs. Subsequently, the Managing SAS serves the CBSDs on the PPA’s Cluster List. See, WINNF-TS-0112, CBRS Operational and Functional Requirements, vl.2.0.

[0067] As used herein, PAL reserved channel refers to a 10 MHz channel in the range of 3550- 3650 that a SAS may establish for exclusive use of a set of one or more CBSDs that are registered as belonging to a PPA based upon acquired PAL rights.

[0068] As described above, CBRS spectrum assignment is dynamic in nature. Channels allocated to certain CBSDs are a result of external spectrum allocation service by SAS and is not under direct control of network operator. For example, the spectrum allocation process may depend on the conditions in the CBSDs environment. For example, an appearance of Tier 1 users operating on an affected channel causes the allocation to be revoked or not allowing the allocation at all for a channel during ongoing activity from the highest priority tier on that channel. Information about the presence of the highest priority user belonging to Tier 1 operating on an affected channel is neither known to the CBSD nor to the DP, but it is under control of SAS. Based on that information, SAS controls availability of a certain channel.

[0069] Result of that volatility in spectrum allocation process and channel availability provided by SAS could lead to undesired outcome for the operator. For example, it may lead to very low overall utilization of spectrum, or to the possible lost opportunity to utilize bandwidth and conduct channel allocation process in DP more efficiently based on the information about the repeating availability pattern of certain channels in the past. Additionally, the availability of CBRS channels to the CBSD might differ from the desired maximum availability that would correspond to the optimal operator’s network planning and chosen configurations.

[0070] Currently, there are no mechanisms available for the operator to monitor CBRS channel availability patterns. Observability of channel availability pattern (i.e., probability of channel availability) based on history data is not available today given operators own their spectrum and do not have to yield to over operations sharing the band. For operators who rely on CBRS for capacity augmentation or as a single source for spectrum, visibility to channel availability pattern and its periodic changes in channel allocation due to incumbent activity is seen as an imperative KPI. Majority of the operators within the United States utilizing CBRS spectrum ask for counters or KPIs that provide visibility of how decisions of SAS are impacting their operations.

[0071] According to certain embodiments disclosed herein, however, systems and methods are provided for the optimization of channel allocation process based on expected channel availability based on repeating patterns. Specifically, according to certain particular embodiments, a network operator is provided with one or more metrics that enable usage of CBRS channels availability patterns over certain period for optimizing channel allocation algorithm and to avoid losses due to low channel availability occurring during that certain period. For example, in a particular embodiment, historical data about channel availability is collected. Information about the channel availability probability is provided to the DP to support optimized channel allocation algorithm based on provided information. These values can then be used to apply policies set by the operator for assigning channels to the Cells in CBSDs.

[0072] Thus, according to certain embodiments, network operators are provided a more precise visibility into the availability pattern of CBRS channels. As a result, network operators are better able to assess channel reliability and perform corrective and / or preventative measures to protect their investment in capacity and / or increased revenue from better configured CBSDs and optimized channel allocation algorithm conducted by DP. An example of such corrective action includes the allocation of certain channels to SCells if probability of channel availability within the certain timeframe in channel availability pattern drops under the threshold that operator defines as an internal policy for minimal acceptable channel availability probability for a PCell. This in turn increases reliability of PCells used as coverage cells and prevent service unavailability if there are no other PCell available in the area.

[0073] Another example of such corrective action includes avoidance of allocation of certain channels or allocation of lesser total Cell bandwidth consisting of more channels. For example, network operators may choose a next available channel with satisfying channel availability, if probability of channel availability within the certain timeframe in channel availability pattern drops under the threshold that operator defines as an internal policy for unacceptable channel availability probability.

[0074] According to certain embodiments, providing network operators with clearer visibility into the channel availability patterns may enable operator to better negotiate operational and commercial agreements with the SAS vendor or with incumbents. As a result, utilization of CBRS channels is improved and revenue may be increased.

[0075] System Overview

[0076] FIGURE 1 illustrates an example CBRS architecture 100, according to certain embodiments. The example CBRS architecture 100 includes a SAS 105, which authorizes and manages use of spectrum for CBRS in accordance with regulations, such as subpart F of the FCC rules. As described above, SAS is not typically under the control of the network operator. Rather, SAS is an overall CBRS architecture element that is responsible for bandwidth allocation. Therefore, the observability of the results of actions performed by SAS over network operator’s CBRS infrastructure is of a special interest for a network operator.

[0077] As illustrated, SAS 105 receives information from informing incumbents 110, FCC databases 115, and Environmental Sensing Component (ESC) 120 and may exchange information with other SASs. For example, from incumbents 110, SAS 105 may receive information relating to changes in spectrum usage ahead of time. As another example, from FCC databases 115, SAS may receive information relating to, for example, registered or licensed commercial users, exclusion zone areas requiring ESC into SAS. From ESC 120, SAS 105 may receive information relating to the presence of a signal from a federal incumbent user system to one or more approved SAS.

[0078] The example CBRS architecture 100 also includes DP 125, which is an entity engaging in communications with the SAS 105 on behalf of multiple individual CBSDs 130 or networks of CBSDs 130. In a particular embodiment, DP 125 provides a translational capability to interface legacy radio equipment in the 3650-3700 MHz band with SAS 105 to ensure compliance with standards and regulations, as described above.

[0079] Each CBSD 130 may include a fixed station or device or a network of such stations or devices. The CBSDs 130 operate on a Priority Access or GAA basis in the CBRS in a manner consistent with standards and regulations.

[0080] The example CBRS architecture 100 also includes Element Management System (EMS) 135 which communicates with DP 125 and CBSD(s) 130. EMS 135 is responsible to provide communication mediation from DP 125 to CBSD(s) 130. In particular the DP 125 talks to SAS and sends commands to EMS 135, which then translates the commands into configurations for CBSD(s) 130. EMS 135 may also be referred to as an Operations Support System (OSS).

[0081] According to certain embodiments, CBRS architecture 100 may use three solutions, which may be implemented independently or as a combined solution to leverage synergies between each other. FIGURE 2 illustrates a flow diagram 200 depicting example interactions between the three solutions, which include a preemptive solution 205, a reactive solution 210, and a SAS enhancement 215, according to certain embodiments.

[0082] According to certain embodiments, preemptive solution 205 defines channel availability patterns using long-term forecasts based on historical data. For example, in a particular embodiment, CBRS architecture 100 uses machine learning applied over a historical data about monitored channel availability over certain period to define channel availability patterns. In a particular embodiment, historical data is stored for longer periods of time in order to allow the model to discover usage patterns and calculate probabilities based on stored data. In a particular embodiment, preemptive solution 205 is used to define blacklist channels to avoid cool downs.

[0083] According to certain embodiments, reactive solution 210 uses current data as an insight into availability patterns for certain CBRS channels and as means to assess the impact of higher tier users’ operations on availability of channels. It is also important as a feedback mechanism for network optimization of available resources, parameters, and capacities. For example, in a particular embodiment and as depicted in FIGURE 2, the reactive solution 210 may be used to generate and / or store historic data that is provided for use with the preemptive solution 205.

[0084] For example, in a particular embodiment, CBRS architecture 100 uses current data to avoid short term interruptions by applying cooldown periods to unreliable channels. For example, in a particular embodiment, a channel cooldown algorithm is used to apply progressive cooldown. Inputs to the algorithm consist of number of channel preemptions (becoming unavailable) during the monitored period and duration of preemptions. Results are cooldown duration and information to the operator about reaching the critical degradation threshold in order to apply a certain channel usage policy.

[0085] According to certain embodiments, SAS enhancement 215 is used to monitor channel availability based on inputs from ESC components 120 and other inputs known to the SAS 105. According to certain embodiments, SAS 105 provides information about the monitored channel availability to the CBSDs 130 or the DP 125, in a form of availability percentage in a certain period, for example. This data can be used as an input for the preemptive solution to increase its accuracy and as an input for CBSDs 130 to apply policies for channel allocation based on the availability thresholds set by the network operator.

[0086] In a particular embodiment, CBRS architecture 100 uses a cell downgrade procedure to downgrade frequently preempted cells to serve only as SCells (i.e., capacity cells). This may be done, for example, in an effort to minimize service disruptions.

[0087] In a particular embodiment, CBRS architecture 100 uses a cell split procedure to avoid combining unreliable channels into large cells. Instead, they may be separated to be used as SCells.

[0088] Example embodiments and implementations of each solution are explained in more detail below. Preemptive Solution

[0089] FIGURE 3 illustrates the example preemptive solution 205, according to certain embodiments. As described above, preemptive solution 205 uses long-term forecasting to predict channel allocation patterns. In particular embodiments, the preemptive solution 205 includes a prediction engine 305 such as, for example, a machine learning model that uses available historical data 310 to find patterns in channel allocation.

[0090] Database 305 is used to store data such as, for example, training data 320 and historical data 310. To get the model to an operational and reliable state, training data 320 is supplied to predictive engine 305 before the feature is activated. In a particular embodiment, for example, the machine learning model is trained to an expected degree of accuracy that is needed for live operation.

[0091] Once the prediction engine 305 has been trained with enough training data 320, the prediction engine 305 can be deployed. During deployment, the prediction engine 305 processes historical data 310. In a particular embodiment, historical data 310 includes available data relating to channel allocation. For example, in a particular embodiment, the historical data 310 may include weighs for each channel. The weights may indicate a demonstrated availability of each channel during a period of time. In a particular embodiment, historical data is stored for a longer period of time that previous techniques so that the model can use this data as an input for predictions in the prediction engine 305. Specifically, the historical data 310 may be stored for weeks or months, for example, rather than just for minutes or days.

[0092] In a particular embodiment, live data is also used to further train the model during operation.

[0093] According to particular embodiments, predictions 315 may include weights for each channel, and each weight may indicate a predicted availability of a respective channel.

[0094] According to certain embodiments, predictions 315 are provided by the prediction engine 305 are used as inputs to DP 125 and / or CBSD 130, as depicted in FIGURE 1. Predictions 315 are utilized in channel reservation procedure, in a particular embodiment. Specifically, for example, channels predicted to be unavailable by the prediction engine 305 are still shown as available by SAS 105, but DP 125 and / or CBSD 130 will not use the channels in the defined time period as PCells in order to avoid channel fluctuations and prevent service interruptions. It is generally recognized that preemptive solution 205 could be used to permanently blacklist channels based on the patterns predicted by prediction engine 305. To avoid this, in particular embodiments, the network operator can:

[0095] • use blacklisted channels as SCells o Channels can be downgraded to SCells first and never blacklisted, as described in more detail below;

[0096] • use a Spectrum Inquiry procedure to check if the channel is available o Algorithm must obey timers set by SAS to avoid overload protection o Possible for suspended grants only, rejected grants can’t be confirmed by heartbeat

[0097] Reactive Solution

[0098] According to certain particular embodiments, reactive solution 210 uses currently available short-term data to apply a progressive “cooldown” for channel allocation when channels get preempted.

[0099] FIGURE 4 illustrates an example reactive solution sequence 400 for reactive solution 210, according to certain embodiments. In particular, the reactive solution sequence 400 of FIGURE 4 demonstrates an example sequence of the following overtime:

[0100] • channel availability as sent by SAS to DC / CBSD;

[0101] • channel allocation shows the usage of available channels by allocation from DC / CBSD;

[0102] • channel cooldown shows the proposed channel cooldown algorithm to be introduced; and

[0103] • channel monitor is a progressive timer used to provide cooldown mechanics. More particularly, FIGURE 4 shows several mechanisms provided by reactive solution 210:

[0104] • progressive cooldown increases when preemption occurs during monitoring time;

[0105] • skipping channel allocation during cooldown period to prevent “bouncing”; and

[0106] • suggestion for blacklisting in case channel is unavailable after configurable number of preemptions during monitoring.

[0107] For example, as depicted, channel cooldown is triggered at 410 and the progressive monitor is started at 415. At 420, the channel is preempted while the monitoring is being performed and the cooldown is increased.

[0108] At 425, allocation of the channel is skipped during the cooldown.

[0109] At 430, the progressive monitor is stopped and the cooldown is decreased.

[0110] At 435, the progressive monitor is started.

[0111] The channel is determined to be preempted during the monitoring and the cooldown is increased at 440. If the channel is again preempted during monitoring, at 443, the cooldown is decreased and / or the channel may be identified for blacklisting.

[0112] FIGURE 5 illustrates an example process loop 500 for the preemptive solution 205, according to certain embodiments.

[0113] As illustrated, before or at the beginning of the loop, channel watchdog process 505 is started to provide monitoring for preemptions. In a particular embodiment, the channel watchdog process 505 step may be continually performed while the preemptive solution 205 is implemented.

[0114] The loop then begins at step 510 when channel preemption is detected. At 515, a determination is made as to whether a channel monitor is running and whether previous preemptions have been identified.

[0115] If there are no previous channel preemptions, a channel cooldown timer is started at 520 and a channel monitor timer is started at 525.

[0116] Conversely, if a channel monitor timer is determined at step 515 to be running from a previous channel preemption, the method continues to step 530 where cooldown time is increased and channel cooldown is executed at step 535. Thereafter, the channel monitor timer is started at 525.

[0117] At step 540, and at the expiration of the time that was started at 525, a cooldown time is decreased due to no preemptions. The method may then return to step 510 and the method may repeat.

[0118] SAS Solution

[0119] According to certain embodiments, the SAS enhancement 215 includes SAS monitoring channel availability. In particular, SAS can monitor channel availability quite precisely since SAS has full control of granting resources to DCs and / or CBSDs. SAS has capabilities such as connections to other SAS devices, ESC sensors, etc. for determining channel availability. Based on this information, SAS can provide a “Channel availability” metric towards DCs and / or CBSDs, which may then be used (if compatible) as an additional input in determining which channels are to be used and whether to use them as PCells and / or SCells, according to certain embodiments.

[0120] For example, a channel with very low availability can be skipped by channel allocation, while a channel with low / medium availability can be used for SCells and a channel with high availability can be used for PCells.

[0121] In a particular embodiment, channel availability is provided as a percentage value, which may be summed up and averaged over time. This functionality can be provided as a private extension by selected SAS vendors. In this way, the SAS enhancement 215is made backwards compatible.

[0122] When used in conjunction with the proposed preemptive solution 210, the SAS enhancement data may be stored together with availability data determined by the DCs and / or CBSDs, in a particular embodiment. The SAS enhancement data may be used by the prediction engine to increase the accuracy of predictions.

[0123] Additional Mechanisms

[0124] Additional mechanisms such as, for example, a cell downgrade procedure and / or a cell split procedure, may be used to augment the functionalities described above.

[0125] Cell Downgrade on Preemption

[0126] In a particular embodiment, a cell downgrade procedure may be used on preempted cells in any of the above-described solutions to downgrade such cells to SCells if they are configured as PCells instead of blacklisting them.

[0127] Typically, PCells should only be allocated on highly reliable channels. However, in case there are no reliable channels available, an additional safety measure may prevent service loss by preventing preempted channels from being downgraded when those channels are utilized by existing PCells and they are needed to avoid coverage holes, in particular embodiments.

[0128] FIGURE 6 illustrates an example cell downgrade sequence 600, according to certain embodiments. In particular, similar to FIGURE 4, the cell downgrade sequence 600 of FIGURE 6 demonstrates an example sequence of the following over time:

[0129] • channel availability as sent by SAS to DC / CBSD; • channel allocation indicating the usage of available channels by allocation from DC / CBSD;

[0130] • channel cooldown indicating the proposed channel cooldown algorithm to be introduced; and

[0131] • channel monitor indicating a progressive timer that is used to provide cooldown mechanics.

[0132] More specifically, as shown in FIGURE 6, a channel cooldown is triggered at 605, and the progressive monitor is started, at 610.

[0133] At 615, it is determined during monitoring that the channel is preempted and the channel cooldown is increased.

[0134] At 620, the channel cooldown period expires, and the channel is downgraded to a SCell.

[0135] At 625, the progressive monitor is stopped, and the cooldown is decreased. The channel may be upgraded again to a PCell in a particular embodiment.

[0136] Cell Split

[0137] In a particular embodiment, a cell split procedure may be additionally or alternatively used to enhance channel usage by providing more granular control over channel usage for PCells and / or SCells. For example, in case a certain channel (or a block of channels) is shown to be unreliable, these channels can be split off into a new cell (SCell), thus providing stability to the original PCell and / or SCell.

[0138] FIGURE 7 illustrates an example cell split sequence 700 for splitting a SCell, according to certain embodiments. As depicted, according to the first time line 705, a cell 702 is configured to be used as a SCell during time periods 6, 7, and 8. However, as shown on the second time line 710, a portion of the cell is determined to be an unsafe channel during time period 8. As such, as shown on the third time line 715, the cell is split into two SCells 704A and 704B.

[0139] In a particular embodiment, the procedure for cell downgrade as shown in FIGURE 6 may be combined with the cell split procedure shown in FIGURE 7 to improve the ratio of reliable to unreliable channels.

[0140] FIGURE 8 shows an example of a communication system 800 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 800 includes a telecommunication network 802 that includes an access network 804, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 806, which includes one or more core network nodes 808. The access network 804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 810a and 810b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 810), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 812) to the core network 806 over one or more wireless connections.

[0141] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 800 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 800 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0142] The UEs 812 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 810 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 810 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 812 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 802 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 802.

[0143] In the depicted example, the core network 806 connects the network nodes 810 to one or more hosts, such as host 816. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 806 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 808) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 808. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0144] The host 816 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 804 and / or the telecommunication network 802, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 816 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0145] As a whole, the communication system 800 of FIGURE 8 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0146] In some examples, the telecommunication network 802 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 802. For example, the telecommunications network 802 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0147] In some examples, the UEs 812 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 804 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 804. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0148] In the example, the hub 814 communicates with the access network 804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 812c and / or 812d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 810b). In some examples, the hub 814 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 814 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 806 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 814 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 810, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 814. As another example, the hub 814 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 814 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0149] The hub 814 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 810b. The hub 814 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 814 and UEs (e.g., UE 812c and / or 812d), and between the hub 814 and the core network 806. In other examples, the hub 814 is connected to the core network 806 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 814 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 804 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 810 while still connected via the hub 814 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 814 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 810b. In other embodiments, the hub 814 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 810b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0150] FIGURE 9 shows a UE 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0151] A UE may support device -to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0152] The UE 900 includes processing circuitry 902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 904 to an input / output interface 906, a power source 908, a memory 910, a communication interface 912, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIGURE 9. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0153] The processing circuitry 902 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 910. The processing circuitry 902 may be implemented as one or more hardware -implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0154] In the example, the input / output interface 906 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 900. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0155] In some embodiments, the power source 908 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 908 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 900 to which power is supplied.

[0156] The memory 910 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 910 includes one or more application programs 914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 916. The memory 910 may store, for use by the UE 900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0157] The memory 910 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 910 may allow the UE 900 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 910, which may be or comprise a device -readable storage medium.

[0158] The processing circuitry 902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 912. The communication interface 912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 922. The communication interface 912 may include one ormore transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 918 and / or a receiver 920 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 918 and receiver 920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 922) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0159] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 912 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0160] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 912, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0161] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0162] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or itemtracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 900 shown in FIGURE 9.

[0163] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0164] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0165] FIGURE 10 shows a network node 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)).

[0166] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0167] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0168] The network node 1000 includes a processing circuitry 1002, a memory 1004, a communication interface 1006, and a power source 1008. The network node 1000 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1000 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1000 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1000, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1000.

[0169] The processing circuitry 1002 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1000 components, such as the memory 1004, to provide network node 1000 functionality.

[0170] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1012 and baseband processing circuitry 1014. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1012 and the baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1012 and baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0171] The memory 1004 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1002. The memory 1004 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1002 and utilized by the network node 1000. The memory 1004 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1002 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1006. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 and memory 1004 is integrated.

[0172] The communication interface 1006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1006 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1006 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1010. Radio front-end circuitry 1018 comprises filters 1020 and amplifiers 1022. The radio frontend circuitry 1018 may be connected to an antenna 1010 and processing circuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1010 and processing circuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1020 and / or amplifiers 1022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1018. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0173] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1018, instead, the processing circuitry 1002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 is part of the communication interface 1006. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1006 includes one or more ports or terminals 1016, the radio frontend circuitry 1018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1012, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1006 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0174] The antenna 1010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1010 is separate from the network node 1000 and connectable to the network node 1000 through an interface or port.

[0175] The antenna 1010, communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0176] The power source 1008 provides power to the various components of network node 1000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1008 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1000 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1008. As a further example, the power source 1008 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0177] Embodiments of the network node 1000 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 10 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1000 and to allow output of information from the network node 1000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1000.

[0178] FIGURE 11 is a block diagram of a host 1100, which may be an embodiment of the host 816 of FIGURE 8, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1100 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and / or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0179] The host 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1104 to an input / output interface 1106, a network interface 1108, a power source 1110, and a memory 1112. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 9 and 10, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1100.

[0180] The memory 1112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1114 and data 1116, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1100 or data generated by the host 1100 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 1100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1114 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1100 may select and / or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1114 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0181] FIGURE 12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1200 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.

[0182] In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1200 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

[0183] Applications 1202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1200 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0184] Hardware 1204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1206 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1208a and 1208b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1208), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1208.

[0185] The VMs 1208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1206. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1202 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1208, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0186] In the context of NFV, a VM 1208 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1208, and that part of hardware 1204 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1208 on top of the hardware 1204 and corresponds to the application 1202.

[0187] Hardware 1204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1204 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1202. In some embodiments, hardware 1204 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1212 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units. FIGURE 13 shows a communication diagram of a host 1302 communicating via a network node 1304 with a UE 1306 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

[0188] Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 812a of FIGURE 8 and / or UE 900 of FIGURE 9), network node (such as network node 810a of FIGURE 8 and / or network node 1000 of FIGURE 10), and host (such as host 816 of FIGURE 8 and / or host 1100 of FIGURE 11) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIGURE 13.

[0189] Like host 1100, embodiments of host 1302 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1302 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1302 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1306 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1350 extending between the UE 1306 and host 1302. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1350.

[0190] The network node 1304 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1302 and UE 1306. The connection 1360 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 806 of FIGURE 8) and / or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0191] The UE 1306 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1306 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1306 with the support of the host 1302. In the host 1302, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1350 terminating at the UE 1306 and host 1302. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1350 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1350.

[0192] The OTT connection 1350 may extend via a connection 1360 between the host 1302 and the network node 1304 and via a wireless connection 1370 between the network node 1304 and the UE 1306 to provide the connection between the host 1302 and the UE 1306. The connection 1360 and wireless connection 1370, over which the OTT connection 1350 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 via the network node 1304, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0193] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1350, in step 1308, the host 1302 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1306 that shares data with the host 1302 without explicit human interaction. In step 1310, the host 1302 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1306. The host 1302 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1306. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1306 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1306. The transmission may pass via the network node 1304, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1312, the network node 1304 transmits to the UE 1306 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1302 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1314, the UE 1306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1306 associated with the host application executed by the host 1302.

[0194] In some examples, the UE 1306 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1302. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1302. Accordingly, in step 1316, the UE 1306 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input / output interface of the UE 1306. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1306 initiates, in step 1318, transmission of the user data towards the host 1302 via the network node 1304. In step 1320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1304 receives user data from the UE 1306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1302. In step 1322, the host 1302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1306. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1306 using the OTT connection 1350, in which the wireless connection 1370 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve one or more of, for example, data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and, thereby, provide benefits such as, for example, reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and / or extended battery lifetime.

[0195] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1302. As another example, the host 1302 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1302 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1302 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1302 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and / or transmitting data.

[0196] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1350 between the host 1302 and UE 1306, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1302 and / or UE 1306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1350 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1304. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1302. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1350 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0197] FIGURE 14 illustrates an example method 1400 for availability-driven channel selection for allocation to a wireless carrier of at least one channel in a CBRS band by a network node 810 associated with a network operator, according to certain embodiments. Specifically, based on historical data, the network node 810 determines, at step 1402, a predicted availability of the at least one channel for use in the CBRS band during a time period. The historical data includes at least one value associated with an availability of the at least one channel during at least a previous observation time period, and the previous observation time period occurs before the time period.

[0198] In a particular embodiment, the historical data comprises a plurality of reliability indicators, wherein each reliability indicator indicates an availability of a particular one of plurality of channels during the previous observation time period.

[0199] In a particular embodiment, determining the predicted availability of the at least one channel includes using a machine learning model to determine at least one predicted channel allocation pattern during the time period.

[0200] In a particular embodiment, the at least one predicted channel allocation pattern includes at least one predicted reliability indicator, and each predicated reliability indicator indicates a predicted availability of a particular one of the plurality of channels during the time period.

[0201] In a particular embodiment, each predicted reliability indicator includes a weight indicating a predicted level of availability of a particular one of plurality of channels during the time period relative to a predicted level of availability of other ones of the plurality of channel during the time period.

[0202] In a particular embodiment, based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, the network node determines to use a first channel for at least a first PCell.

[0203] In a particular embodiment, when determining to use the first channel for at least the first PCell, the network node determines that a value indicating the predicted availability of the first channel is greater than or equal to a first threshold. Based on the value indicating the predicted availability of the first channel being greater than or equal to the first threshold, the network node assigns the first channel to be used as the first PCell.

[0204] In a particular embodiment, while the first channel is used for the PCell, the network node obtains information indicating that the use of the first channel for the PCell has been preempted. Based on the information indicating that the use of the first channel for the PCell has been preempted, the network node determines not to allocate the first channel for use as the PCell during a cooldown time period.

[0205] In a further particular embodiment, upon expiration of the cooldown time period, the network node allocates the first channel for use as a SCell. Alternatively, upon expiration of the cooldown time period, the network node reallocates the first channel for the PCell.

[0206] In a further particular embodiment, during a monitoring time period that occurs while the first channel is being used for the SCell, the network node determines that the use of the first channel is not preempted. Based on the use of the first channel not being preempted during the monitoring time period, the network node reallocates the first channel for use the PCell.

[0207] In a further particular embodiment, during a monitoring time period that occurs while the first channel is being used for the SCell or the PCell, the network node determines that the use of the first channel is not preempted. Based on the use of the first channel not being preempted during the monitoring time period, the network node increases the cooldown time period.

[0208] In a further particular embodiment, when determining to use the first channel for at least the PCell, the network node determines to use a first portion of the first channel for the PCell and determines to use a second portion of the first channel for a SCell. The first portion of the first channel is associated with a value of predicted availability that is higher than a second value of predicted availability that is associated with the second portion of the first channel.

[0209] In a particular embodiment, based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, the network node determines to use a second channel for at least a first SCell.

[0210] In a further particular embodiment, when determining to use the second channel for at least the first SCell, the network node determines that a value indicating the predicted availability of the second channel is less than a first threshold but greater than or equal to a second threshold. Based on the value indicating the predicted availability of the second channel being less than the first threshold and greater than or equal to the second threshold, the network node assigns the second channel to be used as the first SCell.

[0211] In a further particular embodiment, when determining to use the second channel for at least the first SCell, the network node determines to use a first portion of the second channel for the first SCell and determines to use a second portion of the second channel for a second SCell. The first portion of the second channel is associated with a value of predicted availability that is higher than a second value of predicted availability that is associated with the second portion of the second channel.

[0212] In a particular embodiment, based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, the network node determines not to use a third channel for a PCell or a SCell.

[0213] In a particular embodiment, determining not to use the third channel for the PCell or the SCell is based on determining that a value indicating the predicted availability of the third channel is less than a third threshold.

[0214] In a particular embodiment, the network node receives, from a SAS, at least one channel availability metric. The predicted availability of the at least one channel for use for CBRS during the time period is determined based at least in part on the channel availability metric received from the SAS.

[0215] In a further particular embodiment, each channel availability metric comprises a percentage value indicating the predicted availability of a particular channel during the previous observation time period.

[0216] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0217] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method (1400) for availability-driven channel selection for allocation to a wireless carrier of at least one channel in a Citizens Broadband Radio Service band, CBRS band, by a network node (810) associated with a network operator, the method comprising: based on historical data, determining (1402) a predicted availability of the at least one channel for use in the CBRS band during a time period, and wherein the historical data comprises at least one value associated with an availability of the at least one channel during at least a previous observation time period, the previous observation time period occurring before the time period.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the historical data comprises a plurality of reliability indicators, wherein each reliability indicator indicates an availability of a particular one of plurality of channels during the previous observation time period.

3. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 2, wherein determining the predicted availability of the at least one channel comprises using a machine learning model to determine at least one predicted channel allocation pattern during the time period.

4. The method of Claim 3, wherein the at least one predicted channel allocation pattern comprises at least one predicted reliability indicator, and wherein each predicated reliability indicator indicates a predicted availability of a particular one of the plurality of channels during the time period.

5. The method of Claim 4, wherein each predicted reliability indicator comprises a weight indicating a predicted level of availability of a particular one of plurality of channels during the time period relative to a predicted level of availability of other ones of the plurality of channel during the time period.

6. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 5, comprising: based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, determining to use a first channel for at least a first Primary Cell, PCell.

7. The method of Claim 6, wherein determining to use the first channel for at least the first PCell comprises: determining that a value indicating the predicted availability of the first channel is greater than or equal to a first threshold; andbased on the value indicating the predicted availability of the first channel being greater than or equal to the first threshold, assigning the first channel to be used as the first PCell.

8. The method of any one of Claims 6 to 7, comprising: while the first channel is used for the PCell, obtaining information indicating that the use of the first channel for the PCell has been preempted; and based on the information indicating that the use of the first channel for the PCell has been preempted, determining not to allocate the first channel for use as the PCell during a cooldown time period.

9. The method of Claim 8, comprising: upon expiration of the cooldown time period, allocating the first channel for use as a Secondary Cell, or upon expiration of the cooldown time period, reallocating the first channel for the PCell.

10. The method of Claim 9, comprising: during a monitoring time period that occurs while the first channel is being used for the SCell, determining that the use of the first channel is not preempted; and based on the use of the first channel not being preempted during the monitoring time period, reallocating the first channel for use the PCell.

11. The method of any one of Claims 9 to 10, comprising: during a monitoring time period that occurs while the first channel is being used for the SCell or the PCell, determining that the use of the first channel is not preempted; and based on the use of the first channel not being preempted during the monitoring time period, increasing the cooldown time period.

12. The method of Claim 6, wherein determining to use the first channel for at least the PCell comprises: determining to use a first portion of the first channel for the PCell, and determining to use a second portion of the first channel for a SCell, and wherein the first portion of the first channel is associated with a value of predicted availability that is higher than a second value of predicted availability that is associated with the second portion of the first channel.

13. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 12, comprising:based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, determining to use a second channel for at least a first Secondary Cell, SCell.

14. The method of Claim 13, wherein determining to use the second channel for at least the first SCell comprises: determining that a value indicating the predicted availability of the second channel is less than a first threshold but greater than or equal to a second threshold; and based on the value indicating the predicted availability of the second channel being less than the first threshold and greater than or equal to the second threshold, assigning the second channel to be used as the first SCell.

15. The method of Claim 14, wherein determining to use the second channel for at least the first SCell comprises: determining to use a first portion of the second channel for the first SCell, and determining to use a second portion of the second channel for a second SCell, and wherein the first portion of the second channel is associated with a value of predicted availability that is higher than a second value of predicted availability that is associated with the second portion of the second channel.

16. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 15, comprising: based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, determining not to use a third channel for a Primary Cell, PCell or a secondary Cell, SCell.

17. The method of Claim 16, wherein determining not to use the third channel for the PCell or the SCell is based on determining that a value indicating the predicted availability of the third channel is less than a third threshold.

18. The method of any one of Claims 1 to 17, comprising: receiving, from a Spectrum Access System, SAS, at least one channel availability metric, and wherein the predicted availability of the at least one channel for use for CBRS during the time period is determined based at least in part on the channel availability metric received from the SAS.

19. The method of Claim 20, wherein each channel availability metric comprises a percentage value indicating the predicted availability of a particular channel during the previous observation time period.

20. A network node (810) for availability-driven channel selection for allocation to a wireless carrier of at least one channel in a Citizens Broadband Radio Service band, CBRS band, by a network node (810) associated with a network operator, the network node adapted to: based on historical data, determine (1402) a predicted availability of the at least one channel for use in the CBRS band during a time period, and wherein the historical data comprises at least one value associated with an availability of the at least one channel during at least a previous observation time period, the previous observation time period occurring before the time period.

21. The network node of Claim 20, wherein the historical data comprises a plurality of reliability indicators, wherein each reliability indicator indicates an availability of a particular one of plurality of channels during the previous observation time period.

22. The network node of any one of Claims 20 to 21, wherein when determine the predicted availability of the at least one channel, the network node is adapted to use a machine learning model to determine at least one predicted channel allocation pattern during the time period.

23. The network node of Claim 22, wherein the at least one predicted channel allocation pattern comprises at least one predicted reliability indicator, and wherein each predicated reliability indicator indicates a predicted availability of a particular one of the plurality of channels during the time period.

24. The network node of Claim 23, wherein each predicted reliability indicator comprises a weight indicating a predicted level of availability of a particular one of plurality of channels during the time period relative to a predicted level of availability of other ones of the plurality of channel during the time period.

25. The network node of any one of Claims 20 to 24, wherein the network node is adapted to: based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, determine to use a first channel for at least a first Primary Cell, PCell.

26. The network node of Claim 25, wherein when determining to use the first channel for at least the first PCell the network node is adapted to:determine that a value indicating the predicted availability of the first channel is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and based on the value indicating the predicted availability of the first channel being greater than or equal to the first threshold, assign the first channel to be used as the first PCell.

27. The network node of any one of Claims 25 to 26, wherein the network node is adapted to: while the first channel is used for the PCell, obtain information indicating that the use of the first channel for the PCell has been preempted; and based on the information indicating that the use of the first channel for the PCell has been preempted, determine not to allocate the first channel for use as the PCell during a cooldown time period.

28. The network node of Claim 27, wherein the network node is adapted to: upon expiration of the cooldown time period, allocate the first channel for use as a Secondary Cell, or upon expiration of the cooldown time period, reallocate the first channel for the PCell.

29. The network node of Claim 28, wherein the network node is adapted to: during a monitoring time period that occurs while the first channel is being used for the SCell, determine that the use of the first channel is not preempted; and based on the use of the first channel not being preempted during the monitoring time period, reallocate the first channel for use the PCell.

30. The network node of any one of Claims 28 to 29, wherein the network node is adapted to: during a monitoring time period that occurs while the first channel is being used for theSCell or the PCell, determine that the use of the first channel is not preempted; and based on the use of the first channel not being preempted during the monitoring time period, increase the cooldown time period.

31. The network node of Claim 25, wherein when determining to use the first channel for at least the PCell, the network node is adapted to: determine to use a first portion of the first channel for the PCell, and determine to use a second portion of the first channel for a SCell, and wherein the first portion of the first channel is associated with a value of predicted availability that is higher than a second value of predicted availability that is associated with the second portion of the first channel.

32. The network node of any one of Claims 20 to 31, wherein the network node is adapted to: based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, determine to use a second channel for at least a first Secondary Cell, SCell.

33. The network node of Claim 32, wherein when determining to use the second channel for at least the first SCell, the network node is adapted to: determine that a value indicating the predicted availability of the second channel is less than a first threshold but greater than or equal to a second threshold; and based on the value indicating the predicted availability of the second channel being less than the first threshold and greater than or equal to the second threshold, assign the second channel to be used as the first SCell.

34. The network node of Claim 33, wherein when determining to use the second channel for at least the first SCell, the network node is adapted to: determine to use a first portion of the second channel for the first SCell, and determine to use a second portion of the second channel for a second SCell, and wherein the first portion of the second channel is associated with a value of predicted availability that is higher than a second value of predicted availability that is associated with the second portion of the second channel.

35. The network node of any one of Claims 20 to 34, wherein the network node is adapted to: based on the predicted availability of the at least one channel, determine not to use a third channel for a Primary Cell, PCell or a secondary Cell, SCell.

36. The network node of Claim 35, wherein determining not to use the third channel for the PCell or the SCell is based on determining that a value indicating the predicted availability of the third channel is less than a third threshold.

37. The network node of any one of Claims 20 to 36, wherein the network node is adapted to: receive, from a Spectrum Access System, SAS, at least one channel availability metric, and wherein the predicted availability of the at least one channel for use for CBRS during the time period is determined based at least in part on the channel availability metric received from the SAS.

38. The network node of Claim 37, wherein each channel availability metric comprises a percentage value indicating the predicted availability of a particular channel during the previous observation time period.

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