Aerial Base Station ECGI Identification for Seamless Handover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile networks face challenges in efficiently identifying and managing aerial base stations due to the lack of unique identifiers like ECGI, leading to PCI confusion and suboptimal handover processes, especially during events that require rapid deployment and traffic offloading.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for obtaining and prioritizing E-UTRAN cell global identifiers (ECGI) associated with aerial base stations, enabling terrestrial communication devices to report ECGI and adjust signal strength measurements with a cell individual offset (CIO) factor to facilitate seamless handovers and traffic offloading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If aerial base stations are deployed without unique identifiers like ECGI, then deployment speed is improved, but PCI confusion occurs and handover efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring aerial base stations with unique ECGI identifiers before deployment and pre-establishing CIO factor configurations. This allows the network to immediately recognize and manage aerial base stations without confusion, enabling rapid deployment while maintaining reliable handover processes through advance preparation of identification and measurement parameters.
2Device complexity
If traditional mobile network identification methods are used, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to manage aerial base stations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by extending the existing ECGI identifier system, originally designed for terrestrial base stations, to also identify aerial base stations. The same identification framework and measurement reporting mechanisms are used for both terrestrial and aerial base stations, enabling unified management without requiring separate complex identification systems, thus maintaining low device complexity while achieving versatile aerial base station management.
3Ease of operation
If signal strength measurements are not adjusted with CIO factor, then measurement process is simplified, but handover performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by introducing CIO factors that provide localized adjustments to signal strength measurements specifically for aerial base stations. Instead of uniformly simplifying all measurements, the system selectively applies CIO adjustments where needed (for aerial base stations) to account for their unique propagation characteristics, while maintaining simple measurement processes for standard cases. This localized differentiation improves handover performance for aerial base stations without unnecessarily complicating the overall measurement process.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining a first extended cell global identifier (ECGI) of an aerial base station (ABS), determining a location of the ABS, and determining that a terrestrial base station (TBS) is within a distance threshold of the location of the ABS. Further embodiments include providing the first ECGI of the ABS to the TBS, and providing instructions to the TBS to obtain an ECGI from each terrestrial communication device (TCD) communicatively coupled to the TBS. Each of the TCDs obtain the ECGI for each neighboring base station. The TCDs provide the ECGIs to the TBS. Additional embodiments include configuring a neighboring list with the ECGIs of the neighboring base stations, and providing instructions to the TBS to identify as high priority a second ECGI of the ABS within the neighboring list based on the first ECGI of the ABS. Other embodiments are disclosed.