Method and apparatus for performing channel assessment in a wireless communication system

A wireless communication system comprising:

• a data collection engine adapted to obtain channel metrics for each of a plurality of channels in the wireless communication system, wherein the channel metrics include information representative of interference signals in the plurality of channels;
• and
• a data analysis engine adapted to:
• a) filter the channel metrics to remove metrics associated with frequency hopped interference to provide filtered channel metrics;
• b) divide the plurality of channels into a plurality of channel blocks, each channel block comprising at least two adjacent channels;
• c) for each of the plurality of channel blocks, combine the channel metrics of the at least two adjacent channels to provide a combined metric for each of the plurality of channel blocks;
• and
• d) classify each of the plurality of channels based on the combined metrics, thereby identifying usable and unusable channels.

A method of assessing channels in a wireless communication system comprising:

• a) obtaining channel metrics for each of a plurality of channels in the wireless communication system, wherein the channel metrics include information representative of interference signals in the plurality of channels;
• b) determining whether to set a hangover timer to a predetermined hangover value for each of the plurality of channels based on at least one of the channel metrics for the plurality of channels;
• and
• c) classifying each of the plurality of channels based on the hangover timer for each of the plurality of channels, thereby identifying usable and unusable channels.

A system for assessing channels in a wireless communication system comprising:

• a) a data collection engine adapted to obtain channel metrics for each of a plurality of channels in the wireless communication system, wherein the channel metrics include information representative of interference signals in the plurality of channels;
• and
• b) a data analysis engine adapted to:
• determine whether to set a hangover timer to a predetermined hangover value for each of the plurality of channels based on at least one of the channel metrics for the plurality of channels;
• and
• classify each of the plurality of channels based on the hangover timer for each of the plurality of channels, thereby identifying usable and unusable channels.