Method and apparatus for facilitating a beacon-assisted handover to a home Node-B for users on an active call

An apparatus that facilitates a beacon-assisted handover from a wireless terminal, comprising:

• a receiving component configured to receive a control message during an active communication with a base station, wherein the active communication is facilitated by a macro network via the base station;
• a scanning component configured to scan a frequency identified in the control message;
• and
• a transmitting component configured to transmit a report to the base station, wherein the report includes attributes associated with a beacon detected during the scanning of the frequency, wherein the attributes are based on a frame number of the beacon and a scrambling code of the beacon, wherein the scrambling code of the beacon corresponds to more than one femto cell,
• wherein the receiving component is configured to receive a command to perform a handover to an identified femto cell when the attributes correspond to an assigned unique identity of the femto cell, the unique identity of the femto cell comprises an identifier selected from a cross product of a set of scrambling codes for femto cells allocated within a femto cell network, a set of scrambling codes for beacons allocated within the femto cell network, and an offset selected from a set of positive integers, and the frame number of the beacon and the scrambling code of the beacon are a function of the assigned unique identity.

A computer program product that facilitates a beacon-assisted handover from a wireless terminal, comprising:

• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising code for causing at least one computer to:
• receive a control message during an active communication with a base station, wherein the active communication is facilitated by a macro network via the base station;
• scan a frequency identified in the control message;
• transmit a report to the base station, wherein the report includes attributes associated with a beacon detected during the scanning of the frequency, wherein the attributes are based on a frame number of the beacon and a scrambling code of the beacon, wherein the scrambling code of the beacon corresponds to more than one femto cell;
• and
• receive a command to perform a handover to an identified femto cell when the attributes correspond to an assigned unique identity of the femto cell, wherein the unique identity of the femto cell comprises an identifier selected from a cross product of a set of scrambling codes for femto cells allocated within a femto cell network, a set of scrambling codes for beacons allocated within the femto cell network, and an offset selected from a set of positive integers, and the frame number of the beacon and the scrambling code of the beacon are a function of the assigned unique identity.

An apparatus that facilitates a beacon-assisted handover from a wireless terminal, comprising:

• means for receiving a control message during an active communication with a base station, wherein the active communication is facilitated by a macro network via the base station;
• means for scanning a frequency identified in the control message;
• means for transmitting a report to the base station, wherein the report includes attributes associated with a beacon detected during the scanning of the frequency, wherein the attributes are based on a frame number of the beacon and a scrambling code of the beacon, wherein the scrambling code of the beacon corresponds to more than one femto cell;
• and
• means for receiving a command to perform a handover to an identified femto cell when the attributes correspond to an assigned unique identity of the femto cell, wherein the unique identity of the femto cell comprises an identifier selected from a cross product of a set of scrambling codes for femto cells allocated within a femto cell network, a set of scrambling codes for beacons allocated within the femto cell network, and an offset selected from a set of positive integers, and the frame number of the beacon and the scrambling code of the beacon are a function of the assigned unique identity.

At least one processor for facilitating a beacon-assisted handover from a wireless terminal, comprising:

• a first processor module for receiving a control message during an active communication with a base station, wherein the active communication is facilitated by a macro network via the base station;
• a second processor module for scanning a frequency identified in the control message;
• a third processor module for transmitting a report to the base station, wherein the report includes attributes associated with a beacon detected during the scanning of the frequency, wherein the attributes are based on a frame number of the beacon and a scrambling code of the beacon, wherein the scrambling code of the beacon corresponds to more than one femto cell;
• and
• a fourth processor module for receiving a command to perform a handover to an identified femto cell when the attributes correspond to an assigned unique identity of the femto cell, wherein the unique identity of the femto cell comprises an identifier selected from a cross product of a set of scrambling codes for femto cells allocated within a femto cell network, a set of scrambling codes for beacons allocated within the femto cell network, and an offset selected from a set of positive integers and the frame number of the beacon and the scrambling code of the beacon are a function of the assigned unique identity.