Physical Cell Identifier Change Coordination in Telecommunication Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Home base stations may interfere with macro base stations due to shared physical cell identifiers and frequencies, leading to communication failures and service delays when mobile stations are not promptly notified of changes, resulting in potential battery loss and delayed re-association.
Innovation Solution
A method where a base station detects the need to change its physical cell identifier and communicates this information to mobile stations during designated modification periods, allowing simultaneous adoption of the new identifier at the period boundary, ensuring continuous service without disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a home base station changes its physical cell identifier to avoid interference, then interference is reduced, but mobile stations experience communication failure and service delay due to lack of notification
Solution Approach 1:
The base station sends a notification message to mobile stations before actually changing the physical cell identifier. This preliminary notification allows mobile stations to prepare for the change, ensuring they can successfully communicate with the base station using the new identifier without experiencing communication failures or service delays.
Solution Approach 2:
A notification message acts as an intermediary between the base station's intention to change the physical cell identifier and the mobile stations' need to know about this change. This message carries the new identifier information and timing details, enabling coordinated transition without disruption.
2Reliability
If a base station sends notification messages to all mobile stations, then mobile stations can adapt to new identifiers without failure, but mobile stations in idle mode may not receive notifications causing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The notification message includes a time stamp indicating when the new physical cell identifier will be applied. This allows mobile stations to schedule their transition at the specified time, ensuring synchronized changes across all stations regardless of their current mode, thereby eliminating delays for idle mode stations.
Solution Approach 2:
By providing the time stamp in advance, mobile stations can prepare for the identifier change during their next available opportunity, whether in connected or idle mode. This preliminary information allows them to seamlessly transition when the time arrives without causing service delays.
3Adaptability or versatility
If mobile stations perform autonomous search for serving base station after loss of connection, then they may re-associate with another base station, but this causes service delay and battery consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The base station provides notification messages with time stamps before changing the physical cell identifier, allowing mobile stations to proactively prepare for the change. This eliminates the need for autonomous search and re-association procedures, as mobile stations already know about the upcoming change and can seamlessly transition, thereby avoiding service delays and unnecessary battery consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method and system for communicating physical cell identifier information to mobile stations. In one embodiment, a method includes detecting a need to change a physical cell identifier associated with a cell in a telecommunication network used for serving the mobile station. The method also includes communicating physical cell identifier information to the mobile station based on the detected need to change the physical cell identifier. The method includes employing another physical cell identifier associated with the cell based on the communicated physical cell identifier information. The physical cell identifier information is communicated in one or more modification periods such that said another physical cell identifier is employed by the base station and the mobile station at a boundary of one of the modification periods. Moreover, the method includes continue serving the mobile station based on the employed said another physical cell identifier.