Control of coordinated-multipoint service in a virtual radio access network

A method for controlling coordinated-multipoint (CoMP) service in a virtual radio access network (V-RAN) comprising a plurality of cell sites and a centralized baseband unit (BBU) system, wherein a first cell site of the plurality of cell sites provides a first coverage area and has a first remote radio head (RRH) interconnected by a first fronthaul network interface between the first RRH and the BBU system, and wherein a second cell site of the plurality of cell sites provides a second coverage area and has a second RRH interconnected by a respective second fronthaul network interface between the second RRH and the BBU system, the method comprising:

• monitoring load on the first fronthaul network interface;
• and
• using the monitored load on the first fronthaul network interface as a basis to control whether the CoMP service operates in a centralized joint processing mode or rather in a decentralized joint processing mode, wherein using the monitored load as a basis to control whether the CoMP service operates in the centralized joint processing mode or rather in the decentralized joint processing mode includes (i) detecting that the monitored load on the first fronthaul network interface is threshold high and (ii) responsive to at least detecting that the monitored load on the first fronthaul network interface is threshold high, causing the CoMP service to operate in the decentralized joint processing mode rather than in the centralized joint processing mode,
• wherein the CoMP service comprises transmitting from the first RRH of the first cell site to the second RRH of the second cell site a representation of uplink communication received by the first RRH from the first coverage area, and wherein the first RRH receives the uplink communication from the first coverage area as complex symbols representing underlying data,
• wherein, in the centralized joint processing mode, the representation of the uplink communication that is transmitted from the first RRH of the first cell site to the second RRH of the second cell site is a representation of the complex symbols rather than being the underlying data, and
• wherein, in the decentralized joint processing mode, the representation of the uplink communication that is transmitted from the first RRH of the first cell site to the second RRH of the second cell site is the underlying data rather than being a representation of the complex symbols.

A baseband unit (BBU) system configured to control coordinated-multipoint (CoMP) service virtual radio access network (V-RAN) comprising a plurality of cell sites and the BBU system, wherein a first cell site of the plurality of cell sites provides a first coverage area and has a first remote radio head (RRH) interconnected by a first fronthaul network interface between the first RRH and the BBU system, and wherein a second cell site of the plurality of cell sites provides a second coverage area and has a second RRH interconnected by a respective second fronthaul network interface between the second RRH and the BBU system, the BBU system comprising:

• a network communication interface;
• a processing unit;
• data storage;
• and
• program instructions stored in the data storage and executable by the processing unit to cause the BBU system to carry out operations comprising:
• monitoring load on the first fronthaul network interface, and
• using the monitored load on the first fronthaul network interface as a basis to control whether the CoMP service operates in a centralized joint processing mode or rather in a decentralized joint processing mode, wherein using the monitored load as a basis to control whether the CoMP service operates in the centralized joint processing mode or rather in the decentralized joint processing mode includes (i) detecting that the monitored load on the first fronthaul network interface is threshold high and (ii) responsive to at least detecting that the monitored load on the first fronthaul network interface is threshold high, causing the CoMP service to operate in the decentralized joint processing mode rather than in the centralized joint processing mode,
• wherein the CoMP service comprises transmitting over the first fronthaul network interface from the first RRH to the BBU system and in turn from the BBU system over the second fronthaul network interface to the second RRH, a representation of an uplink communication received by the first RRH from the first coverage area, wherein the first RRH receives the uplink communication from the first coverage area as complex symbols representing underlying data,
• wherein, in the centralized joint processing mode, the first RRH transmits to the BBU system, and the BBU system transmits in turn to the second RRH, a representation of the complex symbols, rather than the first RRH decoding the complex symbols to uncover the underlying data and transmitting to the BBU system, for transmission in turn from the BBU system to the second RRH, the underlying data, and
• wherein, in the decentralized joint processing mode, the first RRH decodes the complex symbols to uncover the underlying data and transmits to the BBU system, for transmission in turn from the BBU system to the second RRH, the underlying data, rather than the first RRH transmitting to the BBU system, for transmission in turn from the BBU system to the second RRH, the representation of the complex symbols.