Traffic Offloading for Public Safety Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Public Safety communication systems face congestion issues during high user density scenarios, such as incident scenes, due to group communications that overwhelm primary wireless networks, necessitating effective traffic offloading to secondary networks to manage congestion.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for traffic offloading in Public Safety communication systems, where a services network element identifies congested primary network cells, determines eligible user equipment (UEs) capable of being served by secondary networks, and instructs them to offload traffic, thereby alleviating congestion by routing bearers from primary to secondary networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If group communications traffic is handled on the primary wireless network, then communication service quality is maintained, but network congestion increases during high user density scenarios
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network traffic by dividing group communications bearers into two paths: critical bearers remain on the primary PS network while non-critical bearers are offloaded to secondary networks. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining service quality for essential traffic while relieving congestion through selective traffic diversion to alternative networks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a bearer level indicator as an intermediary mechanism that identifies and classifies bearers as critical or non-critical. This intermediary enables the system to automatically route appropriate traffic to suitable networks, resolving the contradiction between maintaining service quality and managing network capacity during high-density scenarios.
2Productivity
If traffic offloading is implemented to secondary networks, then primary network congestion is reduced, but system complexity increases due to multi-network management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables user equipment to automatically perform traffic offloading decisions based on pre-configured bearer level indicators and network conditions. The system self-manages the complexity by using standardized interfaces and automated bearer classification, eliminating the need for complex manual multi-network management while achieving congestion relief through intelligent traffic routing.
3Productivity
If all bearers are offloaded to secondary networks, then primary network congestion is significantly reduced, but communication reliability deteriorates for critical services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality differentiation by assigning different handling policies to different bearers based on their criticality. Critical bearers maintain high-quality service on the primary PS network while non-critical bearers are offloaded to secondary networks. This local quality approach resolves the contradiction by ensuring service quality for essential traffic while maximizing network capacity utilization through selective offloading.
Data Source
AI summary
A system provides for traffic offloading in a Public Safety communication system. The system includes multiple user equipment (UEs), each a member of a same communications group, and a services network element configured to receive information comprising an identifier of the communications group, an identifier of each UE of the multiple UEs, and an identifier of a cell of a primary network where each UE resides; store, in association with each UE identifier, the communications group identifier and the primary network cell identifier; determine that a primary network cell is congested; responsive to determining that the cell is congested, determine a subset of the multiple UEs that are members of the communications group, reside in the congested cell, and are capable of being served by one or more secondary networks; and instruct the subset of UEs to offload their communications group traffic to the one or more secondary networks.