Proactive response to predicted bearer loss

A base station comprising:

• a wireless communication interface configured for communicating over an air interface;
• and
• a controller comprising a processing unit, data storage, and program instructions stored in the data storage and executable by the processing unit to carry out operations while the base station is serving a plurality of user equipment devices (UEs) over the air interface, wherein, for each UE, the base station has one or more bearers each having a respective service level and each having a respective retention priority level that defines a relative importance of the bearer compared with one or more other bearers, the operations comprising:
• predicting, based at least in part on evaluation of operational data, that there will be a threshold high level of load on the air interface;
• and
• responsive to the predicting, proactively managing service of the UEs before the predicted threshold high level of load on the air interface occurs, wherein proactively managing service of the UEs comprises:
• (a) for each UE, predicting a loss of service that the UE would experience if the threshold high level of load occurs, wherein predicting the loss of service comprises predicting the loss of service based at least in part on the service level of each bearer of the UE, if any, that would be dropped as a result of the threshold high level of load occurring, and
• (b) for each UE whose predicted loss of service exceeds a threshold loss level, engaging in service management in response to the UE's predicted loss of service exceeding the threshold loss level,
• wherein engaging in service management of each UE whose predicted loss of service exceeds the threshold loss level comprises identifying each UE whose predicted loss of service exceeds the threshold loss level and engaging in service management signaling to each identified UE, and
• wherein engaging in service management signaling to at least one identified UE comprises directing the at least one identified UE to hand over.

In a wireless communication system in which a base station serves a plurality of user equipment devices (UEs) over an air interface between the base station and the UEs, wherein each UE has one or more respective bearers with the base station, each bearer having a respective service level and each bearer having a respective retention priority level that defines a relative importance of the bearer compared with one or more other bearers, a method comprising:

• detecting by the base station that there will be a threshold high level of load on the air interface;
• and
• responsive to the detecting, proactively managing service of the UEs, wherein proactively managing service of the UEs comprises:
• (A) for each UE, computing by the base station a loss of service level that the UE would experience if the threshold high level of load occurs, wherein computing the loss of service level comprises (i) determining which, if any, of the UE's one or more bearers would be dropped as a result of the threshold high level of load and (ii) computing as the loss of service level a sum of the service levels of the determined bearer(s),
• (B) determining for each UE whether the computed loss of service level exceeds a threshold loss level, and
• (C) engaging in service management signaling to each determined UE in response to the determination that the UE's computed loss of service level would exceed the threshold loss level, wherein engaging in service management signaling to at least one determined UE comprises directing the at least one determined UE to hand over.