Base Transceiver Station Pool Paging for User Equipment Counting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current public land mobile networks face inefficiencies in tracking user equipment location and signaling, particularly in balancing signaling needs for location updates and paging, and lack precise knowledge of user equipment presence within radio cells, leading to increased signaling traffic and energy consumption.

Innovation Solution

The method involves sending a pool paging information element from the base transceiver station to user equipment, allowing identification without specifying individual user equipment, using a pool paging group identifier to coordinate responses, and providing information on user equipment capabilities and status, reducing signaling traffic and enhancing data privacy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the user equipment announces its presence at each radio cell change, then the public land mobile network can track the user equipment location accurately, but the signaling traffic between user equipment and the network increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelocation tracking accuracyVSAvoidsignaling traffic
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a base transceiver station as an intermediary that performs local counting of user equipments in its coverage area. Instead of direct signaling between user equipment and core network for location tracking, the base transceiver station collects presence information locally and only reports aggregated counts to the network, reducing signaling traffic while maintaining location awareness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The base transceiver station autonomously performs the counting function by monitoring user equipment presence in its coverage area without requiring continuous network intervention. The station independently determines the number of user equipments and only communicates this aggregated information to the network, enabling self-service operation that reduces overall signaling requirements

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If the user equipment is paged in many radio cells to locate it, then the user equipment can be found even with limited location information, but the signaling load on broadcast channels increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser equipment location findingVSAvoidbroadcast signaling load
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The base transceiver station performs preliminary counting of user equipments in its coverage area before paging operations. This advance knowledge of user equipment presence allows the network to target paging messages more efficiently, broadcasting only in cells where user equipments are actually present rather than flooding all cells, thus reducing broadcast signaling load while maintaining reliable location finding

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The base transceiver station provides feedback to the network about the number of user equipments in its coverage area. This feedback mechanism enables the network to make informed decisions about where to broadcast paging messages, directing resources only to cells with active user equipments and avoiding unnecessary broadcast signaling in empty cells

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If the base transceiver station sends individual paging requests to each user equipment, then precise user equipment identification is achieved, but the signaling traffic and processing overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser equipment identificationVSAvoidsignaling processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges individual user equipment identification requests into a single aggregated counting operation. Instead of sending separate paging requests to each user equipment, the base transceiver station performs a unified counting function that determines the total number of user equipments in its coverage area, reducing signaling traffic and processing complexity while still achieving precise identification of user equipment presence

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2663105B1Method for determining the number of user equipments in a geographic area of an access network, user equipment for use in a geographic area of an access network, base transceiver station for determining the number of user equipments in a geographic area of an access network, program and computer program product
Publication Date: 2018.08.08 DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG
  • EP2663105B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for determining the number of user equipments in a geographic area of an access network of a public land mobile network, wherein the access network comprises at least one base transceiver station, wherein a plurality of user equipments in the geographic area receive control signals from the base transceiver station, wherein the method comprises the following steps: -- in a first step, a pool paging information element is sent from the base transceiver station to the plurality of user equipments, -- in a second step, an identity information element is sent to the base transceiver station by at least a part of the user equipments of the plurality of user equipments.