System and Methods for Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) Density and Range Extension Optimization in Heterogeneous Networks

A network component in a small cell for determining Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) density and range extension value for small cells in a wireless network, the network component comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
• transmit a first pilot signal in the small cell;
• receive a pair of measurements from each user equipment (UE) served by the small cell, wherein the pair of measurements includes a first measurement of the first pilot signal and a second measurement of a second pilot signal from a macro cell, wherein the macro cell has a higher transmission power than the small cell;
• determine downlink load (DLL) information according to the first measurement and the second measurement from each UE served by the small cell;
• determine a number of ABSs according to the DLL information;
• and
• report the DLL information and the number of ABSs to a network entity for selecting ABS density and range extension value for the small cell and the macro cell.

A method by a network component in a macro cell for determining Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) density and range extension for small cells in a wireless network, the method comprising:

• transmitting a first pilot signal in the macro cell;
• determining, for each small cell, downlink load (DLL) information according to a pair of measurements from each user equipment (UE) served by each small cell considered in the wireless network, wherein the pair of measurements includes a first measurement of the first pilot signal and a second measurement of a second pilot signal from a small cell, wherein the small cell has a lower transmission power than the macro cell;
• determining, for each small cell, a number of ABSs according to the DLL information;
• and
• reporting the DLL information and the number of ABSs for each small cell to a network entity for selecting ABS density and range extension value for each small cell and the macro cell.

A network component in a macro cell for determining Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) density and range extension value for small cells in a wireless network, the network component comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to:
• transmit a first pilot signal in the macro cell;
• receive a pair of measurements from each user equipment (UE) served by each small cell considered in the wireless network, wherein the pair of measurements includes a first measurement of the first pilot signal and a second measurement of a second pilot signal from a small cell, wherein the small cell has a lower transmission power than the macro cell;
• determine, for each small cell, downlink load (DLL) information according to the first measurement and the second measurement from each UE served by the small cell;
• determine, for each small cell, a number of ABSs according to the DLL information;
• and
• report the DLL information and the number of ABSs for each small cell to a network entity for selecting ABS density and range extension value for each small cell and the macro cell.