US 12,672,004 B2 · Apparatus and methods for interference management in a quasi-licensed wireless system

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for providing interference management and load balancing in a wireless network. In one embodiment, the method and apparatus utilize quasi-licensed CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) wireless spectrum in conjunction with enhanced SAS (Spectrum Access System) and base station (e.g., CBSD) components to enable creation and management of virtual clusters of bases stations connected to the network, so as to enable inter-cluster interference mitigation, while also supporting load balancing between the base stations using coverage area overlap. In one implementation, the SAS reduces the coverage area (transmit power) of one or more base stations on a cluster edge to mitigate inter-cluster interference, and increases or adjusts the coverage of one or more base stations inside of the cluster to enable load balancing.

Claims20

Dependent claims

Wireless access point apparatus for use within a wireless network, comprising:

radio frequency interface apparatus;
digital processor apparatus in data communication with the radio frequency interface apparatus;
and
computer readable apparatus in data communication with the digital processor apparatus and comprising storage medium, the storage medium comprising at least one computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed on the digital processor apparatus, cause the wireless access point apparatus to:
generate and transmit a message to a network entity to notify its participation in a computerized optimization process;
establish a connection with one or more neighboring wireless access point apparatus;
generate and transmit at least one first message to one or more user devices utilizing the wireless access point apparatus to obtain and report data relating to other wireless access point apparatus;
and
generate and transmit at least one second message to the network entity, the at least one second message comprising at least a portion of the reported data relating to the other wireless access point apparatus.

6 more elements

Computer readable apparatus having a non-transitory storage medium, the non-transitory storage medium comprising at least one computer program having a plurality of instructions configured to, when executed on a digital processing apparatus of a computerized base station apparatus, cause the computerized base station apparatus to:

notify a computerized network entity of participation of the computerized base station apparatus in a computerized optimization process;
establish data communication between the computerized base station apparatus and one or more neighboring base station apparatus to obtain, from one or more first user devices in data communication with the one or more neighboring base station apparatus, first data relating to one or more other first base station apparatus also in data communication with the one or more first user devices, respectively;
obtain second data from one or more second user devices utilizing the computerized base station apparatus, the second data relating to one or more other second base station apparatus in data communication with the one or more second user devices, respectively;
and
transmit at least a portion of the first and second data to the computerized network entity.

2 more elements

A method of operating a base station apparatus within a wireless network, the method comprising:

generating and transmitting a message to a network entity to notify its participation in a computerized optimization process;
establishing a connection with one or more neighboring base station apparatus;
generating and transmitting at least one first message to one or more user devices utilizing the one or more neighboring base station apparatus to obtain and report data relating to one or more neighboring base station apparatus;
and
generating and transmitting at least one second message to the network entity, the at least one second message comprising at least a portion of the reported data relating to the one or more neighboring base station apparatus.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and methods for interference management in a quasi-licensed wireless system

Life of this patent

Apparatus and methods for interference management in a quasi-licensed wireless system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20