System and method for adaptive digital sectorization

Abstract

Systems and methods for digital sectorization are provided. In some embodiments, a method of operating a radio access node includes: obtaining values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users; determining to alter a current digital sectorization status based on the values; and in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status: determining a power for each digital sector. This might provide some of the following advantages. More flexible digital sectorization deployment is introduced by considering user distribution in shaping the coverage of the digital sectors. The proposed systems and methods are more energy efficient as the total cell power can be divided between digital sectors based on average users' signal quality at each digital sector. The total cell coverage is also improved by combining IRS with digital sectorization. Moreover, using IRS with digital sectorization provides a degree of freedom to shape the digital sectors.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADAPTIVE DIGITAL SECTORIZA TIONTechnical Field

[0001] The current disclosure relates generally to antenna sectorization.Background

[0002] Enhancing network capacity has been an essential requirement with the increasing demand for high data rate applications. A traditional solution to increase network capacity is to use hard sectorization to be able to re-use the available spectrum. This solution is not preferred as it requires installing additional hardware and the potential increase in inter-cell interference.

[0003] Digital sectorization represents a cost-efficient alternative solution for cell densification where the same hardware is used to implement two or more digital sectors. Furthermore, digital sectorization has less energy efficiency compared to hard sectorization as the same total power is used with the radio unit shared between the digital sectors. Indeed, this becomes more important with adaptive antenna systems (AAS) where radio units consume significant amount of power.

[0001] The idea of digital sectorization has been developed and deployed commercially in LTE networks as shown in Figure 1. Digital sectorization increases the number of available Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) without the need for extra hardware. As shown in Figure 2, a single antenna array and RF front-end are used to implement two digital sectors (shown as Digital Sector 1 and Digital Sector 2).

[0002] The following benefits of digital sectorization have been demonstrated. Digital sectorization increases total site throughput (bits / second) in both Uplink and Downlink, without additional hardware. Digital sectorization increases the number of users supported in dense urban environment.

[0003] Compared to hard sectorization, digital sectorization can also improve overall energy-efficiency (bits / second / Joule), particularly, in high load scenarios. This improvement is since the network capacity is increased while the total power consumption remains unchanged, and only a single radio unit, rather than using several separate radio units in hard sectorization, is shared between sectors. The impact of sharing the radio units on overall energy consumption particularly becomes more pronounced in the cases when Advanced Antenna System (AAS) radio units areconsidered, since they consume a considerable amount of power. Due to these reasons, digital sectorization has a great potential to augment the network capacity in an energy-efficient (bits / second / joule) way for the next generation wireless networks.

[0004] Improved systems and methods for digital sectorization are needed.Summary

[0005] Systems and methods for digital sectorization are provided. In some embodiments, a method of operating a radio access node for enabling digital sectorization includes: obtaining one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node; determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell based on the one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node; and in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell: determining a power for each digital sector. In some embodiments, the proposed adaptive digital sectorization system provides one or more of the following advantages. More flexible digital sectorization deployment is introduced by considering user distribution in shaping the coverage of the digital sectors. The proposed systems and methods are more energy efficient as the total cell power can be divided between digital sectors based on average users' signal quality at each digital sector. The total cell coverage is also improved by combining IRS with digital sectorization. Moreover, using IRS with digital sectorization provides a degree of freedom to shape the digital sectors.

[0006] Some embodiments of the current disclosure relate to an adaptive system to configure the number of digital sectors, and the shape of each digital sector, in horizontal direction, or both horizontal and vertical, based on the user distribution and traffic load within the target coverage area. Furthermore, the power is adaptively allocated between digital sectors to reduce the cell coverage loss.

[0007] To further reduce the coverage loss, some embodiments also provide an optional solution with a distributed IRS system to be used with digital sectorization, the phase shifts on the reflected surfaces distributed in each digital sector are configured based on the location of each UE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to consider implementing IRS with digital sectorization.

[0008] In some embodiments, in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell: configuring one or more reflected surfaces distributed in the cell based on the user distribution.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises one of the group consisting of: determining to enable digital sectorization for the cell; determining to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; determining to increase the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell; determining to change a shape of a digital sector for the cell.

[0010] In some embodiments, determining to change a shape of the digital sector for the cell comprises determining to change the shape of a digital sector by changing one or more of: a horizontal direction; and a vertical direction of the digital sector.

[0011] In some embodiments, the one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for the cell are observed for a predefined period of time.

[0012] In some embodiments, determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: upon determining that the cell is in a low or medium traffic load scenario, performing one of the group consisting of: determining to enable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to increase the number of digital sectors for the cell.

[0013] In some embodiments, determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: upon determining that the cell is in a high traffic load scenario, performing one of the group consisting of: determining to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell.

[0014] In some embodiments, determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: upon determining that the cell-level efficiency for the cell is below a threshold, performing one of the group consisting of: determining to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell.

[0015] In some embodiments, determining the power for each digital sector comprises dividing the total power between digital sectors based on average signal quality at each digital sector.

[0016] In some embodiments, configuring the one or more reflected surfaces comprises increasing a coverage of the cell provided by the radio access node.

[0017] In some embodiments, determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: providing a graceful transition from the current digital sectorization status to the new digital sectorization status.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0019] Figure 1 illustrates a densification strategy called digital sectorization;

[0020] Figure 2 illustrates a single antenna array and RF front-end are used to implement two digital sectors;

[0021] Figure 3 illustrates one example of a cellular communications system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 4 shows how IRS can be integrated with digital sectorization according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 5 illustrates a method of operating a radio access node (900) according to some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0024] Figure 6 illustrates cell coverage divided into No_ Directions (arota() and deciding how many directions covered by each digital sector (DS) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 7 illustrates a diagram of the proposed power splitting between the two digital sectors according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 8 illustrates a summary of some embodiments of the current disclosure;

[0027] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node of Figure 9 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node of Figure 9 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram of a User Equipment device (UE) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of the UE of Figure 12 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 14 illustrates a telecommunication network connected via an intermediate network to a host computer in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 15 is a generalized block diagram of a host computer communicating via a base station with a UE over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 18 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0037] Figure 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.Detailed Description

[0038] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0039] Radio Node: As used herein, a "radio node" is either a radio access node or a wireless communication device.

[0040] Radio Access Node: As used herein, a "radio access node" or "radio network node" or "radio access network node" is any node in a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receivesignals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), a relay node, a network node that implements part of the functionality of a base station or a network node that implements a gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU)) or a network node that implements part of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.

[0041] Core Network Node: As used herein, a "core network node" is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements a core network function. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), or the like. Some other examples of a core network node include a node implementing an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a Network Function (NF) Repository Function (NRF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), or the like.

[0042] Communication Device: As used herein, a "communication device" is any type of device that has access to an access network. Some examples of a communication device include, but are not limited to: mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or Personal Computer (PC). The communication device may be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehiclemounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and / or data via a wireless or wireline connection.

[0043] Wireless Communication Device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which may be any type of wireless device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network). Some examples of a wireless communication device include, but are not limited to: a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network, a Machine Type Communication (MTC)device, and an Internet of Things (loT) device. Such wireless communication devices may be, or may be integrated into, a mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or PC. The wireless communication device may be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and / or data via a wireless connection.

[0044] Network Node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node that is either part of the RAN or the core network of a cellular communications network / system.

[0045] Transmission / Reception Point (TRP): In some embodiments, a TRP may be either a network node, a radio head, a spatial relation, or a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. A TRP may be represented by a spatial relation or a TCI state in some embodiments. In some embodiments, a TRP may be using multiple TCI states. In some embodiments, a TRP may a part of the gNB transmitting and receiving radio signals to / from UE according to physical layer properties and parameters inherent to that element. In some embodiments, in Multiple TRP (multi-TRP) operation, a serving cell can schedule UE from two TRPs, providing better Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) coverage, reliability and / or data rates. There are two different operation modes for multi-TRP: single Downlink Control Information (DCI) and multi-DCI. For both modes, control of uplink and downlink operation is done by both physical layer and Medium Access Control (MAC). In single-DCI mode, UE is scheduled by the same DCI for both TRPs and in multi-DCI mode, UE is scheduled by independent DCIs from each TRP.

[0046] In some embodiments, a set Transmission Points (TPs) is a set of geographically co-located transmit antennas (e.g., an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements)) for one cell, part of one cell or one Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) -only TP. TPs can include base station (eNB) antennas, Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), a remote antenna of a base station, an antenna of a PRS-only TP, etc. One cell can be formed by one or multiple TPs. For a homogeneous deployment, each TP may correspond to one cell.

[0047] In some embodiments, a set of TRPs is a set of geographically co-located antennas (e.g., an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements)) supporting TP and / or Reception Point (RP) functionality.

[0048] Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system.

[0049] Note that, in the description herein, reference may be made to the term "cell"; however, particularly with respect to 5G NR concepts, beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, it is important to note that the concepts described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

[0050] Figure 3 illustrates one example of a cellular communications system 300 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communications system 300 is a 5G system (5GS) including a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5G Core (5GC). In this example, the RAN includes base stations 302-1 and 302-2, which in the 5GS include NR base stations (gNBs) and optionally next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (e.g., LTE RAN nodes connected to the 5GC), controlling corresponding (macro) cells 304-1 and 304-2. The base stations 302-1 and 302-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as base stations 302 and individually as base station 302. Likewise, the (macro) cells 304-1 and 304-2 are generally referred to herein collectively as (macro) cells 304 and individually as (macro) cell 304. The RAN may also include a number of low power nodes 306-1 through 306-4 controlling corresponding small cells 308-1 through 308-4. The low power nodes 306-1 through 306-4 can be small base stations (such as pico or femto base stations) or RRHs, or the like. Notably, while not illustrated, one or more of the small cells 308-1 through 308-4 may alternatively be provided by the base stations 302. The low power nodes 306-1 through 306-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as low power nodes 306 and individually as low power node 306. Likewise, the small cells 308-1 through 308-4 are generally referred to herein collectively as small cells 308 and individually as small cell 308. The cellular communications system 300 also includes a core network 310, which in the 5G System (5GS) is referred to as the 5GC. The base stations 302 (and optionally the low power nodes 306) are connected to the core network 310.

[0051] The base stations 302 and the low power nodes 306 provide service to wireless communication devices 312-1 through 312-5 in the corresponding cells 304 and 308. The wireless communication devices 312-1 through 312-5 are generally referredto herein collectively as wireless communication devices 312 and individually as wireless communication device 312. In the following description, the wireless communication devices 312 are oftentimes UEs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0052] By implementing digital sectori zati on, a significant increase in PRB utilization (increase in DL / UL throughput and increase in the number of connected users in dense areas) has been observed in commercial networks. Digital sectorization provides a significant boost in network capacity with considerable energy-saving.

[0053] The initial deployment of digital sectorization depends mainly on manual configuration where the number of digital sectors is statically configured for each cell. Typically, the traffic profile in a certain cell is dynamically changing overtime, as such fixing the number of digital sectors could result in unnecessary overhead signaling and coverage loss especially when the traffic is low. Recently, an adaptive digital sectorization system has been proposed in Traffic Load Aware Adaptive Digital Sectorization, PCT / IB2023 / 050648, (referred to herein as [1] and incorporated herein by reference), where the traffic load is used as a criterion to dynamically change the number of digital sectors. However, the power is still equally divided between the digital sectors and the shape of sectors is identical (i.e., spatial user distribution is not considered).

[0054] Intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs) have recently attracted significant attention as a promising technique that tunes wireless environment to enhance both spectral and energy efficiencies (additional details can be found in Pan, Cunhua, et al. "Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for 6G systems: Principles, applications, and research directions." IEEE Communications Magazine 59.6 (2021): 14-20). An IRS is a planar surface consisting of an array of low-cost passive reflecting elements, where each element can be configured to induce a phase shift on the incoming signal. These phase shifts can be carefully adjusted to propagate the reflected signal toward the desired direction. IRS is a low-cost hardware that can be installed on objects within the coverage area such as buildings, which means IRS can be easily integrated into the existing wireless systems. Figure 4 shows how IRS can be integrated with digital sectorization.

[0055] In Figure 4, each Digital Sector (DS) has an IRS installed, the received signal at digital sector k can be represented as:where, %feis the transmitted signal, hkis the channel coefficients between gNB and IRSklgkis the channel coefficients between IRSkand the targeted user equipment (UE), 9k= diag (e^1, ... , ei<PN) which represents a diagonal matrix whose elements are the phase shifts in IRSk, N is the number of elements in each IRS, hkosrepresent the Line of Sight (LOS) channel, and n is the additive white Gaussian noise component.

[0056] In [1], equal power split between digital sectors has been considered in digital sectorization deployment which can lead to energy waste in some scenarios when the UE (user equipment) distribution is different in the digital sectors.

[0057] UE distribution has not been considered in shaping the digital sectors, such information can help to better direct the transmitted signal toward identified users' clusters and achieve higher throughput.

[0058] Dynamic digital tilting was not considered in [1]. Adding dynamic digital tilting will enhance the coverage of each DS especially in high rise deployment scenarios, which improves cell throughput.

[0059] Applying digital sectorization in general causes a decrease in cell coverage and may negatively impact users DiyUL throughput at cell edge if it is not handled properly.

[0060] Figure 5 illustrates a method of operating a radio access node (900) according to some embodiments of the current disclosure. In some embodiments, a method of operating a radio access node (900) for enabling digital sectorization includes: obtaining (step 500) one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node (900); determining (step 502) to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell based on the one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node (900); and in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell: determining (step 504) a power for each digital sector. In some embodiments, the proposed adaptive digital sectorization system provides one or more of the following advantages. More flexible digital sectorization deployment is introduced by considering user distribution in shaping the coverage of the digital sectors. The proposed systems and methods are more energy efficient as the total cell power can be divided between digital sectors based on average users' signal quality at each digital sector. The total cell coverage is also improved bycombining IRS with digital sectorization. Moreover, using IRS with digital sectorization provides a degree of freedom to shape the digital sectors.

[0061] Additionally, in some embodiments, in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell, the method also includes configuring (step 506) one or more reflected surfaces distributed in the cell based on the user distribution.

[0062] In the following description an adaptive switching between two cases is considered as an example:• Non-digital sectorization • Two digital sectors. The proposed method is flexible to be used with more digital sectors; however, the discussion herein will consider two digital sectors for simplicity). The number of digital sectors can be decided in a similar way as proposed in [1].

[0063] Some embodiments of the current disclosure consider adaptive configuration of the power and cell coverage in the two cases aided by distributed IRS within the coverage area.

[0064] The following parameters will be used through the description of the proposed embodiments:

[0065] The proposed method is applied as described in the following steps:

[0066] Step 1: Digital sectorization decision and determine the coverage of each digital sector

[0067] In this step the system decides to go with digital sectorization or stay with non-digital sectorization. The decision is taken based on the user distribution and / or the traffic of the connected users. If the total PRB utilization within the cell exceeds certain threshold (Total_PRB_utilization > Threshold-!), so digital sectorization is enabled; otherwise, cell will continue with non-digital sectorization. In this initial step, a similar approach is followed as in [1]. Some possible pseudocode is provided: / / First check if DS can be triggered based on total PRB utilization IF (Total_PRB_utilization > Threshold-!)Digital_Sectorization = TRUE;End

[0068] If digital sectorization is enabled, user distribution is used to decide the coverage area of each digital sector. The total cell coverage area is divided into directions as shown in Figure 6. The total number of directions No_directions) depends on the number of transmit antennas in the base station. Each UE send a channel state information (CSI) which includes the recommended precoder matrix index (PMI), the reported pmiltlfrom each UE is mapped to one of the configured directions using the look up table PMI_to_Direction_mapping. As each UE is now located in one of the directions, the PRB utilization per direction can be calculated by accumulating the PRB utilization for the UEs located in that direction. In the following description, only the horizontal directions are considered, mapped from pmi11,- however, vertical directions can be also included using pmi1 2-

[0069] Figure 6 illustrates cell coverage divided into No_ Directions aTotaland deciding how many directions covered by each digital sector (DS). For simplicity, only two digital sectors are considered, to decide the coverage of each digital sector, the system start scanning the PRB utilization in each direction starting from direction at angle 0 and accumulates the PRB utilization at each direction till the accumulated PRB utilization reaches certain threshold Accumulated_PRB_utilization >Thresho!d_2), atthis point a digital sector will be shaped to cover these directions, and the remaining directions will be covered with the other digital sector. At the end the first digital sector (DS1) will cover the directions {a1, ... , aDS1and DS2 will cover the directions [aDS1+ 1, a-Totai}- Some possible pseudocode is provided:IF (Digital_Sectorization = TRUE)Accumulated_PRB_utilization = 0;For u = 1: nrof_usersDirection(u) = PMIto Direction mapping (PMI(u)); end directions_in_DS = 1;For p = 1 to no_dircetionWhile (Accumulated_PRB_utilization < Threshold_2) Accumulated_PRB_utilization + = RB_utilization (users in direction p); directions J n_DS += 1;EndBreak;EndEnd

[0070] Step 2: Determine the power on each digital sector

[0071] Instead of having equal power between the two digital sectors, the power on each digital sector is initially given as:where Ptotaiis the total cell power.

[0072] Figure 7 illustrates a diagram of the proposed power splitting between the two digital sectors. The control mechanism shown in Figure 7 can be used in some embodiments to ensure that the average estimated SINR for cell-edge UEs in the two digital sectors is within the same range.

[0073] Step 3 (optional): Determine the digital tilt for each digital sector

[0074] Based on pmi1 2reported from UEs in each digital sector, a statistic of these measurements can be obtained and digital tilt for the common beamforming is decided. For example, a histogram of pmi12can be used to get the median of the vertical direction and the digital tilt can be calculated accordingly.

[0075] Step 4 (Optional): Configure the IRS for each UE in the two digital sectors

[0076] This step is optional to further reduce coverage loss where an IRS is associated with one of the configured directions. Each UE will be served by the IRS associated with its direction, and the phase shift for that UE can be adjusted based on the SRS or DMRS signal sent by the UE on PUSCH channel. Figure 8 illustrates a summary of some embodiments of the current disclosure.

[0077] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio access node 900 may be, for example, a base station 302 or 306 or a network node that implements all or part of the functionality of the base station 302 or gNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio access node 900 includes a control system 902 that includes one or more processors 904 (e.g., Central Processing Units (CPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and / or the like), memory 906, and a network interface 908. The one or more processors 904 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. In addition, the radio access node 900 may include one or more radio units 910 that each includes one or more transmitters 912 and one or more receivers 914 coupled to one or more antennas 916. The radio units 910 may be referred to or be part of radio interface circuitry. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s) 910 is external to the control system 902 and connected to the control system 902 via, e.g., a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s) 910 and potentially the antenna(s) 916 are integrated together with the control system 902. The one or more processors 904 operate to provide one or more functions of a radio access node 900 as described herein. In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software that is stored, e.g., in the memory 906 and executed by the one or more processors 904.

[0078] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates a virtualized embodiment of the radio access node 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is equally applicable to other types of network nodes. Further, other types of network nodes may have similar virtualized architectures. Again, optional features are represented by dashed boxes.

[0079] As used herein, a "virtualized" radio access node is an implementation of the radio access node 900 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node 900 is implemented as a virtual component(s) (e.g., via a virtual machine(s) executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As illustrated, in this example, the radio access node 900 may include the control system 902 and / or the one or more radio units 910, as described above. The control system 902 may be connected to the radio unit(s) 910 via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The radio access node 900 includes one or more processing nodes 1000 coupled to or included as part of a network(s) 1002. If present, the control system 902 or the radio unit(s) are connected to the processing node(s) 1000 via the network 1002. Each processing node 1000 includes one or more processors 1004 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and / or the like), memory 1006, and a network interface 1008.

[0080] In this example, functions 1010 of the radio access node 900 described herein are implemented at the one or more processing nodes 1000 or distributed across the one or more processing nodes 1000 and the control system 902 and / or the radio unit(s) 910 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 1010 of the radio access node 900 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 1000. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 1000 and the control system 902 is used in order to carry out at least some of the desired functions 1010. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system 902 may not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 910 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 1000 via an appropriate network interface(s).

[0081] In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of radio access node 900 or a node (e.g., a processing node 1000) implementing one or more of the functions 1010 of the radio access node 900 in avirtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

[0082] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of the radio access node 900 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 900 includes one or more modules 1100, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 1100 provide the functionality of the radio access node 900 described herein. This discussion is equally applicable to the processing node 1000 of Figure 10 where the modules 1100 may be implemented at one of the processing nodes 1000 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 1000 and / or distributed across the processing node(s) 1000 and the control system 902.

[0083] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 1200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 1200 includes one or more processors 1202 (e.g., CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and / or the like), memory 1204, and one or more transceivers 1206 each including one or more transmitters 1208 and one or more receivers 1210 coupled to one or more antennas 1212. The transceiver(s) 1206 includes radio-front end circuitry connected to the antenna(s) 1212 that is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna(s) 1212 and the processor(s) 1202, as will be appreciated by on of ordinary skill in the art. The processors 1202 are also referred to herein as processing circuitry. The transceivers 1206 are also referred to herein as radio circuitry. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 1200 described above may be fully or partially implemented in software that is, e.g., stored in the memory 1204 and executed by the processor(s) 1202. Note that the wireless communication device 1200 may include additional components not illustrated in Figure 12 such as, e.g., one or more user interface components (e.g., an input / output interface including a display, buttons, a touch screen, a microphone, a speaker(s), and / or the like and / or any other components for allowing input of information into the wireless communication device 1200 and / or allowing output of information from the wireless communication device 1200), a power supply (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

[0084] In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of the wireless communication device 1200 according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).

[0085] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram of the wireless communication device 1200 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 1200 includes one or more modules 1300, each of which is implemented in software. The module(s) 1300 provide the functionality of the wireless communication device 1200 described herein.

[0086] With reference to Figure 14, in accordance with an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 1400, such as a 3GPP- type cellular network, which comprises an access network 1402, such as a RAN, and a core network 1404. The access network 1402 comprises a plurality of base stations 1406A, 1406B, 1406C, such as Node Bs, eNBs, gNBs, or other types of wireless Access Points (APs), each defining a corresponding coverage area 1408A, 1408B, 1408C. Each base station 1406A, 1406B, 1406C is connectable to the core network 1404 over a wired or wireless connection 1410. A first UE 1412 located in coverage area 1408C is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 1406C. A second UE 1414 in coverage area 1408A is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1406A. While a plurality of UEs 1412, 1414 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 1406.

[0087] The telecommunication network 1400 is itself connected to a host computer 1416, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 1416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1418 and 1420 between the telecommunication network 1400 and the host computer 1416 may extend directly from the core network 1404 to thehost computer 1416 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1422. The intermediate network 1422 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private, or hosted network; the intermediate network 1422, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 1422 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0088] The communication system of Figure 14 as a whole enables connectivity between the connected UEs 1412, 1414 and the host computer 1416. The connectivity may be described as an Over-the-Top (OTT) connection 1424. The host computer 1416 and the connected UEs 1412, 1414 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 1424, using the access network 1402, the core network 1404, any intermediate network 1422, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1424 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1424 passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1406 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from the host computer 1416 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 1412. Similarly, the base station 1406 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 1412 towards the host computer 1416.

[0089] Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 15. In a communication system 1500, a host computer 1502 comprises hardware 1504 including a communication interface 1506 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1500. The host computer 1502 further comprises processing circuitry 1508, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 1508 may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The host computer 1502 further comprises software 1510, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 1502 and executable by the processing circuitry 1508. The software 1510 includes a host application 1512. The host application 1512 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 1514 connecting via an OTT connection 1516 terminating at the UE 1514 and thehost computer 1502. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 1512 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1516.

[0090] The communication system 1500 further includes a base station 1518 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1520 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1502 and with the UE 1514. The hardware 1520 may include a communication interface 1522 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1500, as well as a radio interface 1524 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1526 with the UE 1514 located in a coverage area (not shown in Figure 15) served by the base station 1518. The communication interface 1522 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1528 to the host computer 1502. The connection 1528 may be direct or it may pass through a core network (not shown in Figure 15) of the telecommunication system and / or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system. In the embodiment shown, the hardware 1520 of the base station 1518 further includes processing circuitry 1530, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 1518 further has software 1532 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0091] The communication system 1500 further includes the UE 1514 already referred to. The UE's 1514 hardware 1534 may include a radio interface 1536 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 1526 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 1514 is currently located. The hardware 1534 of the UE 1514 further includes processing circuitry 1538, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 1514 further comprises software 1540, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1514 and executable by the processing circuitry 1538. The software 1540 includes a client application 1542. The client application 1542 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1514, with the support of the host computer 1502. In the host computer 1502, the executing host application 1512 may communicate with the executing client application 1542 via the OTT connection 1516 terminating at the UE 1514 and the host computer 1502. In providing the service to the user, the client application 1542 may receive request datafrom the host application 1512 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1516 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 1542 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

[0092] It is noted that the host computer 1502, the base station 1518, and the UE 1514 illustrated in Figure 15 may be similar or identical to the host computer 1416, one of the base stations 1406A, 1406B, 1406C, and one of the UEs 1412, 1414 of Figure 14, respectively. This is to say, the inner workings of these entities may be as shown in Figure 15 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of Figure 14.

[0093] In Figure 15, the OTT connection 1516 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 1502 and the UE 1514 via the base station 1518 without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to hide from the UE 1514 or from the service provider operating the host computer 1502, or both. While the OTT connection 1516 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

[0094] The wireless connection 1526 between the UE 1514 and the base station 1518 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1514 using the OTT connection 1516, in which the wireless connection 1526 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the e.g., data rate, latency, power consumption, etc. and thereby provide benefits such as e.g., reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.

[0095] 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 1516 between the host computer 1502 and the UE 1514, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1516 may be implemented inthe software 1510 and the hardware 1504 of the host computer 1502 or in the software 1540 and the hardware 1534 of the UE 1514, or both. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 1516 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 the software 1510, 1540 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1516 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 1518, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1518. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer's 1502 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 1510 and 1540 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or 'dummy' messages, using the OTT connection 1516 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

[0096] Figure 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 14 and 15. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 16 will be included in this section. In step 1600, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 1602 (which may be optional) of step 1600, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1604, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 1606 (which may be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1608 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0097] Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 14 and 15. For simplicity of the present disclosure,only drawing references to Figure 17 will be included in this section. In step 1700 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1702, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1704 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0098] Figure 18 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 14 and 15. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 18 will be included in this section. In step 1800 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1802, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1804 (which may be optional) of step 1800, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1806 (which may be optional) of step 1802, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in sub-step 1808 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 1810 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0099] Figure 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE which may be those described with reference to Figures 14 and 15. For simplicity of the present disclosure, only drawing references to Figure 19 will be included in this section. In step 1900 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 1902 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1904 (which may be optional), thehost computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0100] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0101] While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

[0102] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).• 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project• 5G Fifth Generation• 5GC Fifth Generation Core• 5GS Fifth Generation System• AAS Advanced Antenna System• AF Application Function• AMF Access and Mobility FunctionAN Access NetworkAP Access PointASIC Application Specific Integrated CircuitAUSF Authentication Server FunctionCPU Central Processing UnitCSI Channel State InformationDCI Downlink Control InformationDN Data NetworkDS Digital SectorDSP Digital Signal Processor eNB Enhanced or Evolved Node BEPS Evolved Packet SystemE-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio AccessFPGA Field Programmable Gate Array gNB New Radio Base Station gNB-DU New Radio Base Station Distributed UnitHSS Home Subscriber Server loT Internet of ThingsIP Internet ProtocolIRS Intelligent Reflecting SurfaceLTE Long Term EvolutionMAC Medium Access ControlMME Mobility Management EntityMTC Machine Type CommunicationNEF Network Exposure FunctionNF Network FunctionNR New RadioNRF Network Function Repository FunctionNSSF Network Slice Selection FunctionOTT Over-the-TopPC Personal ComputerPCF Policy Control FunctionPDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel• P-GW Packet Data Network Gateway• PRB Physical Resource Block• PRS Positioning Reference Signal• QoS Quality of Service• RAM Random Access Memory• RAN Radio Access Network• ROM Read Only Memory• RP Reception Point• RRH Remote Radio Head• RTT Round Trip Time• SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function• SMF Session Management Function• TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator• TP Transmission Point• TRP Transmission / Reception Point• UDM Unified Data Management• UE User Equipment• UPF User Plane Function

[0103] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

Claims1. A method of operating a radio access node (900) for enabling digital sectorization, comprising: obtaining (500) one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node (900); determining (502) to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell based on the one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node (900); and in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell: determining (504) a power for each digital sector.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell: configuring (506) one or more reflected surfaces distributed in the cell based on the user distribution.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises one of the group consisting of: determining to enable digital sectorization for the cell; determining to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; determining to increase the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell; determining to change a shape of a digital sector for the cell.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein determining to change a shape of the digital sector for the cell comprises determining to change the shape of a digital sector by changing one or more of: a horizontal direction; and a vertical direction of the digital sector.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for the cell are observed for a pre-defined period of time.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: upon determining that the cell is in a low or medium traffic load scenario, performing one of the group consisting of: determining to enable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to increase the number of digital sectors for the cell.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: upon determining that the cell is in a high traffic load scenario, performing one of the group consisting of: determining to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: upon determining that the cell-level efficiency for the cell is below a threshold, performing one of the group consisting of: determining to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determining the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determining to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8 wherein determining the power for each digital sector comprises dividing the total power between digital sectors based on average signal quality at each digital sector.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9 wherein configuring the one or more reflected surfaces comprises increasing a coverage of the cell provided by the radio access node (900).

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises: providing a graceful transition from the current digital sectorization status to the new digital sectorization status.

12. A radio access node (900), the network node comprising one or more processors (904) and a memory (906), where the memory (906) comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to: obtain one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node (900); determine to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell based on the one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for a cell provided by the radio access node (900); and in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell: determine a power for each digital sector.

13. The radio access node (900) of claim 12 further comprising instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to: in response to determining to alter a current digital sectorization status for the cell: configure one or more reflected surfaces distributed in the cell based on the user distribution.

14. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 13 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to perform one of the group consisting of: determine to enable digital sectorization for the cell; determine to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determine the number of digital sectors for the cell; determine to increase the number of digital sectors for the cell; anddetermine to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell; determine to change a shape of a digital sector for the cell.

15. The radio access node (900) of claim 14 wherein determining to change a shape of the digital sector for the cell comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to determine to change the shape of a digital sector by changing one or more of: a horizontal direction; and a vertical direction of the digital sector.

16. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 15 wherein the one or more values related to a user distribution and / or traffic characteristics of connected users for the cell are observed for a pre-defined period of time.

17. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 16 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to: upon determining that the cell is in a low or medium traffic load scenario, performing one of the group consisting of: determine to enable digital sectorization for the cell; determine the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determine to increase the number of digital sectors for the cell.

18. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 17 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to: upon determining that the cell is in a high traffic load scenario, performing one of the group consisting of: determine to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determine the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determine to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell.

19. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 18 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to:upon determining that the cell-level efficiency for the cell is below a threshold, performing one of the group consisting of: determine to disable digital sectorization for the cell; determine the number of digital sectors for the cell; and determine to decrease the number of digital sectors for the cell.

20. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 19 wherein determining the power for each digital sector comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to divide the total power between digital sectors based on average signal quality at each digital sector.

21. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 20 wherein configuring the one or more reflected surfaces comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to increase a coverage of the cell provided by the radio access node (900).

22. The radio access node (900) of any of claims 12 to 21 wherein determining to alter the current digital sectorization status for the cell comprises instructions to cause the radio access node (900) to: provide a graceful transition from the current digital sectorization status to the new digital sectorization status.

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