Anchor Carrier Handover in Multi-Carrier Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-carrier wireless telecommunications networks face resilience issues when the anchor carrier fails, leading to service interruptions and unnecessary radio link failures, as the network loses visibility of user equipment and requires time to reconnect, disrupting ongoing data transfers.
Innovation Solution
A method to transfer anchor carrier status from a failing carrier to another carrier with suitable characteristics, ensuring continuous network visibility and minimizing service disruptions by determining carriers with measurable characteristics above predetermined threshold values and transferring the status before radio link failure occurs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the network relies on a single anchor carrier for control and mobility management, then the network structure is simple and easy to manage, but the system becomes vulnerable to anchor carrier failure causing service interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by proactively detecting anchor carrier quality degradation through measurement reporting mechanisms. When the anchor carrier's measurable characteristics fall below thresholds, the system triggers a handover preparation process before complete failure occurs, ensuring service continuity by pre-establishing alternative carrier readiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by maintaining multiple carriers with suitable characteristics as backup options. When anchor carrier degradation is detected, the system has pre-identified alternative carriers ready to assume the anchor role, cushioning against the harmful effect of anchor carrier failure and preventing service interruption.
2Reliability
If the network transfers anchor carrier status proactively before failure, then service continuity is improved, but the complexity of carrier management and control signaling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where user equipment continuously reports measurable characteristics of the anchor carrier to the network. This feedback loop enables the network to monitor anchor carrier quality and trigger handover decisions based on objective thresholds, managing the complexity through automated decision-making rather than manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies self-service by enabling user equipment to autonomously measure and report anchor carrier characteristics. The network node automatically processes these reports and makes handover decisions based on pre-configured thresholds, reducing the need for complex manual carrier management and allowing the system to self-regulate based on actual radio conditions.
3Device complexity
If the network waits for anchor carrier failure before reconnection, then control signaling is minimized, but service interruption time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by initiating the anchor carrier transfer process before the anchor carrier completely fails. By detecting degradation trends and triggering handover in advance, the system avoids the need for time-consuming reconnection procedures after failure, significantly reducing service interruption time while maintaining efficient control signaling through threshold-based decision-making.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of transferring anchor carrier status from a first carrier to another carrier in a multi-carrier wireless telecommunications network. The multi-carrier wireless telecommunications network comprises a base station and user equipment operable to simultaneously transmit and receive signals on multiple radio frequency carriers within a sector of the telecommunications network. The method comprises receiving details of a triggering event to be forwarded to a network node, the triggering event including a measurable characteristic of the first carrier changing past a predetermined first threshold value, providing triggering information indicative of the triggering event to a network node, determining which other carriers of the multicarrier telecommunications network have a measurable characteristic past a predetermined second threshold value, providing information relating to the above carriers to the network node, and transferring anchor carrier status to another carrier determined to have a measurable characteristic past the predetermined second threshold value.