Communication system
AssigneeNEC Corporation
InventorsVivek Sharma, Robert Arnott, Hisashi Futaki, Yuhua Chen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A communication system is disclosed, in which a mobile communication device communicates user data using a communication bearer provided via a first base station and a second base station of the communication system. The base stations are configured to determine a packet delay for communicating user data using said communication bearer based on the time when the first base station started PDCP processing for a data packet communicated using said communication bearer, and based on the time when the data packet was acknowledged by said mobile communication device to the second base station.
Claims11
A base station configured to operate as part of a dual connectivity configuration in which a communication bearer between a core network and a user communication device is provided via the base station and a further base station, said base station comprising:
- at least one non-transitory memory operable to store program code;
- and
- at least one processor operable to read the program code and configured to operate as instructed by the program code, the program code including:
- establishing code that causes the at least one processor to establish said communication bearer with said user communication device via a communication link over a base station to base station interface between said base station and said further base station, wherein said communication bearer comprises:
- a first part, in one of said base station and said further base station, where first processing is performed;
- and
- a second part, in the other of said base station and said further base station, where second processing is performed;
- and
- obtaining code that causes the at least one processor to obtain:
- i) first time information representing a time when said first processing with regard to a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) started, in said further base station operating as a master base station of said dual connectivity configuration, for a data packet communicated using said communication bearer;
- and
- ii) second time information representing a time when at least part of said data packet communicated using said communication bearer was acknowledged, in said base station operating as a secondary base station of said dual connectivity configuration, by said user communication device;
- and
- determining code that causes the at least one processor to determine a packet delay based on said obtained first time information and second time information, wherein
- said communication bearer is split, at said further base station operating as said master base station, into said first and second parts, and
- said obtaining code further causes the at least one processor to obtain the first time information by estimating a time when radio link control (RLC) processing started for said data packet in said base station operating as said secondary base station.
A method performed by a base station apparatus comprising a master base station and a secondary base station configured to operate as part of a dual connectivity configuration in which a communication bearer between a core network and a user communication device is provided via the said master base station and said secondary base station, the method comprising:
- establishing said communication bearer with said user communication device via a communication link over a base station to base station interface between said master base station and said secondary base station, wherein said communication bearer comprises:
- a first part, in one of said master base station and said secondary base station, where first processing is performed;
- and
- a second part, in the other of said master base station and said secondary base station, where second processing is performed;
- and
- obtaining:
- i) first time information representing a time when said first processing with regard to a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) started, in said master base station, for a data packet communicated using said communication bearer;
- and
- ii) second time information representing a time when at least part of said data packet communicated using said communication bearer was acknowledged, in said secondary base station, by said user communication device;
- and
- determining a packet delay based on said obtained first time information and second time information, wherein
- said communication bearer is split, at said master base station, into said first and second parts, and
- said obtaining comprises obtaining the first time information by estimating a time when radio link control (RLC) processing started for said data packet in said secondary base station.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.