Measurement Reporting Continuity Indicator for LTE Handovers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication technologies face challenges in reducing the need for manual drive testing, which is costly and inefficient, especially in newer networks like LTE, as they require continuous measurement reporting during cell handovers, leading to increased complexity and resource consumption for mobile terminals.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that manage measurement reporting after cell changes by providing a continuity indicator from the source cell to the target cell, allowing the mobile terminal to determine whether to continue reporting based on the measurement configuration, thereby simplifying the reporting process and reducing unnecessary data logging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If continuous measurement reporting is maintained during cell handovers, then measurement accuracy and network optimization data quality are improved, but mobile terminal complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The source base station proactively determines whether measurement reporting should continue after handover and communicates this decision to the target base station and mobile terminal before the handover is complete. This preliminary action prevents the mobile terminal from needing to independently evaluate complex continuation criteria, thereby reducing terminal complexity while ensuring measurement accuracy is maintained when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The source base station acts as an intermediary that receives measurement configuration information, determines reporting continuation status, and communicates the continuity indicator to both the target base station and mobile terminal. This intermediary role centralizes the decision-making logic in the network infrastructure rather than requiring complex terminal-side evaluation, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
2Loss of information
If measurement reporting continues after cell handover, then network optimization data collection is improved, but resource consumption and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The source base station determines in advance whether measurement reporting should continue after handover and communicates this decision through the continuity indicator before the handover is complete. This allows the mobile terminal to avoid unnecessary measurement and reporting operations when they are not needed, reducing resource consumption while maintaining data continuity when required for network optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system selectively discards measurement reporting after handover when it is determined to be unnecessary, and recovers/continues it when needed for network optimization. The source base station evaluates whether the target cell requires measurement data and communicates this through the continuity indicator, allowing the terminal to discard unnecessary reporting operations and conserve resources while maintaining data collection where valuable.
3Productivity
If manual drive testing is reduced through automated measurement reporting, then operational costs are lowered, but terminal implementation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The source base station serves as an intermediary that receives measurement configuration information from the network management system, determines whether reporting should continue after handover, and communicates this decision to the mobile terminal. This intermediary approach enables automated measurement reporting for network optimization without requiring the terminal to independently evaluate complex continuation criteria, thus improving testing efficiency while limiting terminal implementation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile terminal autonomously continues or stops measurement reporting based on the continuity indicator received from the source base station, without requiring manual configuration or complex decision-making logic in the terminal. This self-service approach allows automated measurement reporting to replace manual drive testing while keeping terminal implementation relatively simple, as the terminal merely follows the network's instructions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for providing management of measurement reports after a cell handover may include receiving, at a source cell, an indication that a handover of a mobile terminal is to be conducted from the source cell to a target cell, causing provision of information indicative of a measurement configuration employed by the mobile terminal with respect to the source cell to the target cell in which the measurement configuration is descriptive of reports for communication parameters measured at the mobile terminal based on transmissions associated with the source cell, and directing communication of a continuity indicator to the mobile terminal to indicate to the mobile terminal whether to continue providing measurement information to the target cell based on the measurement configuration. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also provided.