LTE Base Station Mobility Parameter Selection for Shared CDMA Operators

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

In LTE base station sharing scenarios, the base station is unclear about which operator a user equipment is subscribed to, making it difficult to provide appropriate mobility parameters for handovers between LTE and CDMA networks.

Innovation Solution

An LTE network communications apparatus that receives and selects mobility parameters associated with respective CDMA networks and operators, using subscription information to determine the correct parameters for transmission to the user equipment, potentially with the aid of a mapping table provided by an operations and management node.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If multiple operators share the same LTE base station to reduce capital expenditure, then cost efficiency improves, but the base station loses knowledge of which operator a UE is subscribed to, making it impossible to provide correct mobility parameters for handover

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecapital expenditure efficiencyVSAvoidoperator subscription information
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces the core network (specifically the MME - Mobility Management Entity) as an intermediary between the shared LTE base station and the multiple operators. The core network maintains the operator subscription information and provides it to the base station when needed for handover decisions, allowing the base station to obtain the necessary information without each operator needing their own dedicated infrastructure

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The core network is designed to serve multiple operators universally, handling mobility management functions for all operators sharing the LTE infrastructure. This multi-functional approach allows a single core network instance to manage subscriptions and provide appropriate parameters for different operators, eliminating the need for separate core networks for each operator

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If the LTE base station provides mobility parameters for handover to alternative networks, then service continuity is maintained, but the base station cannot determine which specific operator parameters to provide when multiple operators share the network

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice continuityVSAvoidparameter selection complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements a feedback mechanism where the base station queries the core network to obtain operator identification information about the UE. The core network responds with the specific operator identity, enabling the base station to select the correct mobility parameters from the available sets. This feedback loop ensures accurate parameter provision while maintaining service continuity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP2826294B1Communication system
Publication Date: 2020.07.15 NEC CORP
  • EP2826294B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2826294B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2826294B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A communication system is described in which an LTE base station and network are shared by two or more CDMA operators. Mobility parameters for the different CDMA operators are available and selection between the parameters is performed by the LTE base station, a mobile telephone connected to the LTE base station or a network node, such as an O&M node. The selection is performed based on information relating to subscription information for the mobile telephone.