Small Cell Mobility with Dual Connectivity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing frequency of mobility events involving small cell base stations leads to excessive signaling, consuming additional processing resources and potentially causing service interruptions during handovers, especially with the anticipated increase in 5G small cell deployments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a multi-controller architecture that terminates RRC connections for all RATs and radio interfaces, maintains a single UE AS context for all connected RATs, and initiates seamless handovers between small cell and macro cell networks, thereby reducing signaling and minimizing service disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If small cell base stations are deployed to increase network capacity and coverage, then network coverage and data transmission capability are improved, but the frequency of mobility events increases leading to excessive signaling and processing overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control plane functions of multiple small cell base stations into a single small cell controller. This consolidation allows the controller to manage mobility events for multiple cells centrally, reducing redundant signaling between the terminal and individual base stations during handovers, while still providing extended network coverage through the small cell network.
2Reliability
If traditional handover procedures are used during mobility events between small cells, then connectivity is maintained, but service interruptions occur and processing resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-establishing the control plane connection between the terminal and the small cell controller before mobility events occur. The controller is pre-configured to manage multiple small cells, enabling seamless handovers without service interruptions when the terminal moves between cells, as the control framework is already in place.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple control plane connections are maintained for dual/multi connectivity, then connection management flexibility is improved, but signaling overhead and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the control plane management functions from individual small cell base stations and places them in a dedicated small cell controller. This separation allows multiple control plane connections to be maintained for dual/multi connectivity with improved flexibility, while the complexity of managing these connections is centralized in the controller rather than distributed across multiple base stations and the terminal.
Data Source
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AI summary
There are provided measures for improvements in small cell mobility with dual/multi connectivity. Such measures exemplarily comprise terminating at least one control plane signaling connection from said terminal for said at least first network access entity and second network access entity, maintaining a terminal related access stratum context commonly for radio accesses of said terminal to said at least first network access entity and second network access entity, and initiating switching of said radio access of said terminal from said first network access entity to said second network access entity for user plane data transfer with said control plane signaling connection for said second network access entity being applied unchanged, thereby providing, in a control plane for a terminal, connection management for at least a first network access entity and a second network access entity, wherein said at least first network access entity and second network access entity providing radio access for user plane data transfer for said terminal, wherein said terminal being capable of having radio access to said at least first network access entity and second network access entity for user plane data transfer.