Cell Cluster Interleaving for Network Upgrade Dead Zone Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern cellular networks face service disruptions during network service activities like upgrades and maintenance, creating large service dead zones that adversely affect usability and reliability for user equipment.
Innovation Solution
Implementing cell cluster interleaving by grouping radio sites into batches to minimize overlapping coverage zones, ensuring that only non-overlapping or minimally overlapping sites are taken offline simultaneously, thereby maintaining connectivity for user equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network service activities are performed on all or most radio sites simultaneously, then service disruptions occur creating large dead zones, but performing activities sequentially on all sites ensures complete network maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides radio sites into multiple batches based on geographic proximity and coverage overlap characteristics. Sites are segmented into batches such that sites in the same batch have minimal coverage overlap, allowing simultaneous maintenance without creating large dead zones. This segmentation enables parallel maintenance operations while maintaining service continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of radio site coverage zones to determine optimal batch assignments before maintenance activities begin. By pre-calculating coverage overlaps and assigning sites to batches accordingly, the system prepares a maintenance schedule that minimizes service disruption from the outset, rather than reacting to disruptions during maintenance.
2Productivity
If radio sites with overlapping coverage zones are taken offline simultaneously, then maintenance efficiency increases, but service dead zones expand affecting more users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments radio sites into batches based on coverage zone characteristics. Sites with significant coverage overlap are placed in different batches, ensuring that when one batch is maintained, sites in other batches remain operational and can provide coverage to affected areas. This segmentation balances maintenance efficiency with minimizing service disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different maintenance strategies to different groups of sites based on their local coverage characteristics. By analyzing the specific coverage overlap patterns of each site and assigning sites to appropriate batches, the system optimizes maintenance efficiency locally while ensuring that geographic areas maintain service coverage during maintenance operations.
3Use of energy by moving object
If all radio sites are maintained during the same time window, then resource utilization is maximized, but user experience deteriorates due to extended service outages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic maintenance cycles where different batches of radio sites are maintained in alternating time periods. Rather than maintaining all sites simultaneously, the system cycles through batches, allowing sites to be maintained during one period while remaining operational during another. This periodic approach maintains resource utilization efficiency while ensuring continuous service availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary scheduling to allocate maintenance time windows to different batches in a sequence that minimizes service disruption. By pre-planning the maintenance timeline and assigning time windows to specific batches, the system optimizes resource utilization while ensuring that users experience minimal or no service outages during maintenance operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Cell clusters are interleaved for network service activities, such as frequency retuning and upgrades, so that clusters that are taken offline are interspersed with clusters that remain operational. This minimizes dead zones, in which user equipment (UE) are left entirely without service for the duration of a network service activity. For example, if a cell serving a UE goes out of service for an upgrade, a tier 1 cluster neighbor of that cell remains operational so that the UE may use the neighbor for service. Although the longer distance to the neighbor may result in lower signal quality, many UEs will at least have some connectivity during the network service activity. Examples determine a set of batches for performing a network service activity on radio sites in a geographic region, such that radio sites having overlapping coverage zones are not assigned to the same batch.