Charging Area Location Reporting Reduces Signaling Overhead
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication systems face inefficiencies in location reporting, particularly due to the high signaling overhead and resource wastage associated with reporting every cell-to-cell transition, which is not useful for common location-based services and policy/charging controls.
Innovation Solution
Implementing location reporting at a charging area level granularity, where transitions between defined charging areas are monitored and reported, rather than individual cell transitions, to reduce signaling overhead and optimize resource utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If location reporting is performed at cell level granularity, then location accuracy is improved, but network signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the reporting granularity by introducing an intermediate level (charging area) between cell level and broader location areas. This segmentation allows the system to report location changes at a moderate granularity that balances accuracy needs with signaling overhead reduction, applying the principle of dividing the reporting hierarchy into manageable segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different reporting granularities for different services and different geographic areas. Charging areas can be configured with appropriate sizes and boundaries based on local requirements, enabling location-based services to receive location updates at the appropriate level of detail without requiring all services to receive cell-level information.
2Loss of information
If every cell transition is reported, then location update completeness is improved, but network bandwidth usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary location information for charging area transitions rather than reporting all cell transitions. The control node determines whether a cell transition constitutes a charging area transition and only reports when such transitions occur, taking out the essential location update information while filtering out redundant cell-level reporting data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by reporting location updates only when charging area transitions occur, rather than reporting every cell transition. This partial reporting approach provides sufficient location update completeness for location-based services while significantly reducing the volume of signaling traffic compared to reporting all cell transitions.
3Measurement precision
If cell-to-cell transition reporting is implemented, then location tracking accuracy is improved, but network load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the location tracking process by introducing charging areas as intermediate reporting units. This segmentation allows the network to track user equipment location at an appropriate granularity level for charging and location-based services without the excessive network load of cell-level tracking, improving overall network efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the reporting parameter from cell-level transitions to charging area-level transitions. By modifying the granularity parameter of location reporting, the system maintains sufficient location tracking accuracy for service purposes while reducing the frequency and volume of location update reports, thereby improving network efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for location reporting at a charging area level granularity is provided. The method includes detecting at a mobility management entity (MME) a transition of a user equipment (UE) from a first cell to a second cell to obtain at least a second cell identifier. The method also includes determining at the MME whether the detected UE transition constitutes a transition from a first charging area to a second charging area using the second cell identifier by comparing the second cell identifier to a charging area configuration. A charging area includes a plurality of cells that are served by at least one eNodeB. The method further includes providing to a policy server a report of the determined UE transition, if it is determined that the detected UE transition constitutes a transition from the first charging area to the second charging area.