Apparatus and method for femto cell coverage mapping using macro base station

A method of operating a network having a base station controller, a macro cell, and a plurality of femto cells, comprising:

• determining a mapping of locations of the femto cells within coverage range of the macro cell;
• determining a location of a mobile communications device;
• and
• enabling connection of the mobile communications device to the macro cell or to one of the plurality of femto cells based on the mapping of locations of the femto cells and the location of the mobile communications device.

A base station controller for connecting a mobile communications device to either of a macro cell or one of a plurality of femto cells, comprising:

• a memory that stores a plurality of instructions;
• and
• a processor that executes the instructions to:
• determine a mapping of locations of the femto cells within coverage range of the cell;
• determine whether network considerations indicate the mobile communications device should be connected to the macro cell or to one of the plurality of femto cells;
• and
• enable connection of the mobile communications device to the macro cell or to one of the plurality of femto cells based on the network considerations and the mapping of locations of the femto cells.