Terminal Device Location Configuration for MDT Load Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless network optimization methods, such as drive/walk tests, are inefficient due to inaccuracies caused by geographic data imperfections, environmental changes, and limited network analysis, leading to high operational costs and time-consuming data compilation.
Innovation Solution
A method where a terminal device in a wireless communication network receives a location configuration message to prepare location information without transmitting it back to the first network node, instead sending it to a different network node or internal function, optimizing configuration flexibility and reducing load on localization protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If extensive measurement reports are collected from multiple UEs to compile service area information quickly, then the completeness and accuracy of network performance data is improved, but the load on localization protocols and participating nodes increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the location information preparation function from the first network node (E-SMLC) and assigns it to the terminal device (UE). The UE prepares location information locally based on configuration messages, and only the necessary configuration data and prepared results are exchanged between nodes, reducing the protocol load on the first network node while maintaining measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a second network node as an intermediary that receives location information from the terminal device and forwards it to the first network node. This intermediary architecture distributes the protocol load across multiple nodes rather than concentrating it on the first network node, enabling extensive measurement collection without overwhelming a single node.
2Reliability
If drive/walk tests are performed to obtain accurate field performance snapshots, then the reliability of network optimization data is improved, but the time and cost required for data collection increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables terminal devices to autonomously prepare location information based on configuration messages received from the network. Multiple UEs can simultaneously perform measurements and prepare location data without requiring coordinated drive/walk tests, significantly reducing data collection time while maintaining field performance reliability through distributed self-measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The first network node sends configuration messages to terminal devices in advance, instructing them on what location information to prepare. This preliminary configuration enables UEs to be ready for measurements beforehand, reducing the overall data collection time while ensuring that the required location information is obtained when needed for network optimization.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of generating location information in a terminal device (200) operative in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The terminal device receives (248) from a first network node (210) a location configuration message. As a result, the terminal device prepares (252) location information but refrains (254) from causing transmission of the location information to the first network node. Instead, the terminal device may transmit the prepared location information to a location information receiving network node (230) different from the first network node (210), to a location information receiving function within the terminal device, or to a location information receiving device (152), operative in the wireless communication network and different from the terminal device (200). This is used to reduce location message traffic load in the frame of MDT (minimization of drive-tests). In the LTE architecture the first node may be a E-SMLC, the second node a MME and the terminal device an UE communicating via RRC and LPP protocols.