Macrocell base station, a telecommunications network, and a femtocell base station, and a method of switching a femtocell base station between a dormant mode and an active mode
AssigneeAlcatel Lucent
InventorsLester Tse We Ho, Imran Ashraf
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method is provided of switching a femtocell base station for wireless telecommunications between a dormant mode and an active mode. The femtocell base station lies within the coverage area of a macrocell base station. The macrocell base station determines whether a user terminal authorized to connect with the femtocell base station is within the coverage area of the femtocell base station, and dependent upon said determination the macrocell base station transmitting over air to the femotocell base station a command for the femtocell base station to switch mode.
Claims20
A method of controlling a femtocell base station for wireless telecommunications, comprising:
- determining a user terminal authorised to connect with a femtocell base station entered a coverage area of a macrocell base station, wherein the femtocell base station is located within the coverage area of the macrocell base station;
- and
- transmitting a command to the femtocell base station that causes the femtocell base station to switch from a dormant mode to an active mode based at least in part on the determination;
- wherein the macrocell base station performs said determination and transmits the command over air to the femtocell base station.
A network element for wireless telecommunications configured to:
- determine a user terminal authorised to connect with a femtocell base station entered a coverage area of a macrocell base station where the femtocell base station is located within the coverage area of the macrocell base station;
- and
- transmit a command to the femtocell base station that causes the femtocell base station to switch from a dormant mode to an active mode based at least in part on the determination;
- wherein the network element is a macrocell base station, the macrocell base station being configured to perform the determination and transmit the command over air to the femtocell base station.
A wireless telecommunications network for wireless telecommunications, comprising:
- a macrocell base station configured to determine a user terminal entered a coverage area of a macrocell base station where the femtocell base station is located within the coverage area of the macrocell base station, wherein the macrocell base station is configured to determine the user terminal is authorised to connect with the femtocell base station by inspecting a list of identities of user terminals authorised to connect with the femtocell base station and finding the user terminal identified in the list of identities of user terminals, wherein the macrocell base station is configured to transmit a command over air to the femtocell base station that causes the femtocell base station to switch from a dormant mode to an active mode based at least in part on the determinations;
- and
- a core network connected to the macrocell base station, wherein the core network is configured to provide the list of identities of user terminals to the macrocell base station;
- wherein the macrocell base station is configured to store the list of identities of user terminals in a memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.