Base Station Beam Segmentation for Spectral Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile communications networks face challenges in improving spectral efficiency due to the scarcity of wireless spectrum resources, particularly in maintaining coverage relationships and requiring additional site backhaul resources when increasing the number of antennas per unit area.
Innovation Solution
A communication method and apparatus that utilize a base station to transmit both broad and narrow beams, where the narrow beams cover entirely within the broad beam's coverage area and share the same physical cell identifier, allowing for enhanced spectral efficiency without additional site backhaul resources or affecting coverage relationships.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the number of antennas per unit area is increased to improve spectral efficiency, then spectral efficiency is improved, but additional site backhaul resources are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the coverage area into a broad beam covering the entire sector and multiple narrow beams covering specific regions within the sector. This segmentation allows different beam types to serve different functions: the broad beam maintains overall coverage relationships while narrow beams provide additional capacity in specific areas, thereby improving spectral efficiency without requiring additional site backhaul resources for the entire sector.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by deploying narrow beams with enhanced spatial resolution in specific local areas within the sector where additional capacity is needed, while the broad beam maintains the overall sector coverage. This localized enhancement allows spectral efficiency improvement in specific regions without requiring additional backhaul resources for the entire sector.
2Productivity
If the number of antennas per unit area is increased to improve spectral efficiency, then spectral efficiency is improved, but coverage relationship between sectors is affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the beam structure into a broad beam that maintains the overall sector coverage relationship and narrow beams that operate within the sector boundaries. The broad beam ensures that inter-sector coverage relationships remain stable while narrow beams provide additional spectral efficiency improvements within the sector without spilling over to affect neighboring sectors.
3Productivity
If bandwidth is increased to improve network capacity, then network capacity is improved, but wireless spectrum resource shortage worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional time-frequency resource space to a three-dimensional space by adding the spatial dimension through beamforming. By creating multiple narrow beams within the same time-frequency resources, the system effectively multiplies the available capacity without requiring additional spectrum bandwidth, thereby addressing the spectrum resource shortage while improving network capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
According to a communication method and a base station that are provided in embodiments of the present invention, the base station transmits a broad beam that covers a sector of the base station and narrow beams whose coverage areas completely fall within a coverage area of the broad beam, which implements that under a premise that a coverage area of the sector of the base station maintains unchanged by using the broad beam, enhanced coverage of the sector is further achieved by using the narrow beams, thereby improving spectral efficiency. In the solutions, a sector coverage area of the broad beam transmitted by the base station still maintains unchanged, and therefore, a coverage relationship between sectors is not affected. In addition, neither an additional site backhaul resource nor additional standardization support is required in the solutions.