HK1228169A1

HK1228169A1 - Coverage adjustment in e-utra networks

Info

Publication number: HK1228169A1
Application number: HK17101792.9A
Authority: HK
Inventors: Joey Chou; Jorge MENA
Original assignee: 苹果公司
Priority date: 2012-08-03
Filing date: 2017-02-20
Publication date: 2017-10-27

Description

Coverage adjustment in E-UTRA networks

The application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with the application number of 201310335719.6, the application date of 2013, 8 and 5, and the invention name of coverage adjustment in an E-UTRA network.

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The priority benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/679,627, filed on 3/8/2012 and entitled "advanced wireless communication systems and techniques," the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to coverage adjustment for use in an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN).

Background

The E-UTRAN is typically deployed as a set of overlay cells that serve User Equipment (UE) in an overlay geographic area. Services in E-UTRAN can be compromised when coverage holes occur, for example, due to signal propagation attenuation, shadowing effects, signal interference, and object obstructions. For example, coverage holes (e.g., weak coverage areas or no coverage areas) may occur at geographic locations bounded by tall buildings and/or located at the edges of coverage cells.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application provides a method executable by a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the method comprising: receiving, by a CCO component, service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells, wherein each E-UTRAN cell of the one or more E-UTRAN cells is provided by at least one evolved node B (eNB); determining, by the CCO component, a coverage area to adjust based on the service performance data; and transmitting, by the CCO component, an instruction to change a service parameter of at least one of the one or more E-UTRAN cells to adjust the coverage area.

The present application also provides an apparatus for implementing a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from one or more evolved node Bs (eNBs), service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells provided by the one or more eNBs, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, an Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, an upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, a packet delay, a dropped rate, a lost rate, or environmental information; means for identifying an out-of-service area based on service performance data; means for transmitting, to a set of eNBs of the one or more eNBs, a first instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by the set of eNBs, wherein an eNB of the set of eNBs is associated with the determined coverage area; means for determining a coverage area to adjust based on results of the one or more MDTs; and means for transmitting, to at least one eNB of the set of enbs, a second instruction to adjust a service parameter of an E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB to adjust the coverage area.

The present application further provides a method executable by a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the method comprising: receiving, by a CCO component from one or more evolved node bs (enbs), service performance data of one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells provided by the one or more enbs, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure event; identifying, by the CCO component, a service deficient region based on a correlation of the service performance data with the environmental information, the same user session, or the same geographic region; transmitting, by the CCO component, a first instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by a set of enbs, wherein the set of enbs are associated with the determined coverage area; determining, by the CCO component, a coverage area to adjust based on the result of the MDT; and transmitting, by the CCO component, to at least one eNB of the set of enbs, a second instruction to adjust a service parameter of an E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB to adjust the coverage area.

The present application also provides a method executable by an evolved node b (enb), the method comprising: transmitting, by an eNB to a Network Management (NM) device, service performance data of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cell provided by the eNB; receiving, by the eNB from the NM device, instructions for adjusting service parameters of the E-UTRAN cell based on the service performance data; and adjusting, by the eNB, a service parameter of the E-UTRAN cell, wherein the service parameter is at least one of a size of a coverage area of the E-UTRAN cell or a capacity of the E-UTRAN cell.

The present application also provides an apparatus for implementing a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells, wherein each E-UTRAN cell of the one or more E-UTRAN cells is provided by at least one evolved node B (eNB); means for determining a coverage area to adjust based on the service performance data; and means for transmitting an instruction to change a service parameter of at least one of the one or more E-UTRAN cells to adjust the coverage area.

The present application also provides an apparatus for implementing a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from one or more evolved node Bs (eNBs), service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells provided by the one or more eNBs, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure event; means for identifying an out-of-service area based on a correlation of service performance data with environmental information, a same user session, or a same geographic area; means for transmitting, to a set of eNBs of the one or more eNBs, a first instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by the set of eNBs, wherein the set of eNBs is associated with the determined coverage area; means for determining a coverage area to adjust based on the result of the MDT; and means for transmitting, to at least one eNB of the set of enbs, a second instruction to adjust a service parameter of an E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB to adjust the coverage area.

The present application also provides an apparatus implemented in an evolved node b (enb), the apparatus comprising: means for transmitting service performance data of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cell provided by an eNB to a Network Management (NM) device; means for receiving instructions from the NM device for adjusting service parameters of the E-UTRAN cell based on the service performance data; and means for adjusting a service parameter of the E-UTRAN cell, wherein the service parameter is at least one of a size of a coverage area of the E-UTRAN cell or a capacity of the E-UTRAN cell.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a Network Management (NM) apparatus including: a receiver circuit to: receiving data representing a first Radio Link Failure (RLF) report, the first RLF report including information relating to a disconnection of a first User Equipment (UE) from an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), and receiving data representing a second RLF report, the second RLF report including information relating to a disconnection of a second UE from the E-UTRAN; coverage analysis circuitry to identify holes in a coverage area of the E-UTRAN based at least in part on the first and second RLF reports; and corrective action circuitry to perform automatic Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) actions to reconfigure cell resources of the E-UTRAN based on the identified hole.

According to one embodiment, the information relating to the disconnection of the first UE from the E-UTRAN comprises Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), an identifier of a cell to which the first UE was connected before the disconnection of the first UE from the E-UTRAN, location information, or a timestamp representing a disconnection time.

According to another embodiment, wherein receiving data representative of a first RLF report comprises receiving data representative of a first RLF report from a first evolved node b (enb) serving the first UE when the first UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein receiving data representative of a second RLF report comprises receiving data representative of a second RLF report from a second eNB serving the second UE when the second UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN, and wherein the first and second enbs are common enbs.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein receiving data representative of a second RLF report comprises receiving data representative of a second RLF report from a second eNB serving the second UE when the second UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN, and wherein the first and second enbs are different enbs.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein the coverage analysis circuit further: initiating a region-based Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) procedure on an evolved node B associated with a cell nominally covering the identified hole.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an evolved node b (enb) comprising: service providing circuitry to provide services of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) to User Equipments (UEs) located within a coverage cell of the eNB; receiver circuitry to receive a Radio Link Failure (RLF) report from the UE comprising information relating to a previous disconnection of the UE from the E-UTRAN; and a transmitter circuit to transmit data representative of the RLF report to a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component of a Network Management (NM) device of the E-UTRAN for use in identifying a hole in a coverage area of the E-UTRAN.

According to an embodiment, wherein the transmitter circuit further transmits data over interface-N (Itf-N).

According to yet another embodiment, wherein the UE generates the RLF report when the UE was previously disconnected from the E-UTRAN.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein the information related to the previous disconnection of the UE from the E-UTRAN comprises one or more of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), an identifier of a coverage cell, location information, and a timestamp representing a time of disconnection.

According to yet another embodiment, the eNB further comprises: a second receiver circuit to receive a Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) region based query from a CCO component of an NM device of the E-UTRAN after the transmitter circuit transmits data representing the RLF report to the CCO component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a Network Management (NM) apparatus including: receiver circuitry to receive data representative of performance of a service provided by an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) representative of service performance at a plurality of geographic locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN; coverage analysis circuitry to correlate the data to identify out-of-service geographic areas; and corrective action circuitry to adjust one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area.

According to one embodiment, wherein the data comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs), upload or download physical resource block usage, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, packet delay, dropped and lost rate.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein the coverage analysis circuit further: accessing data representing environmental information; wherein correlating the data to identify the geographic area lacking service comprises correlating data representative of service performance with data representative of environmental information.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein the data representative of environmental information comprises a location of a road or a stadium.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein adjusting one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional service to the out-of-service geographic area includes making one or more cells smaller to increase capacity in the out-of-service geographic area.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein adjusting one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area includes reshaping one or more cells by adjusting one or more corresponding antennas.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein reshaping the one or more cells by adjusting the one or more corresponding antennas comprises approximately aligning a longitudinal axis of the one or more cells with a longitudinal axis of the one or more roads.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein adjusting one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional service to the out-of-service geographic area includes making one or more cells larger to cover at least a portion of the out-of-service geographic area.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein receiving data representative of service performance at a plurality of geographic locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN comprises receiving data from one or more evolved node Bs (eNBs) serving the one or more cells of the E-UTRAN.

According to yet another embodiment, wherein receiving data representative of service performance at a plurality of geographic locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN comprises receiving data via interface-N (Itf-N).

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an evolved node b (eNB) associated with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), the eNB comprising: transmitter circuitry to transmit data to a Network Management (NM) device, the data representative of performance of a service provided by the E-UTRAN in a coverage cell served by the eNB; receiver circuitry to receive instructions from the NM apparatus to adjust service parameters of a coverage cell served by the eNB to provide additional services to an out-of-service geographic area identified by the NM apparatus based at least in part on data communicated by the eNB to the NM apparatus; and service provisioning circuitry to adjust service parameters of the coverage cell in accordance with the instructions.

According to an embodiment, wherein said service lack geographical area is identified by said NM device based at least in part on data representative of performance of a service provided by said E-UTRAN within one or more coverage cells served by one or more other enbs.

According to an embodiment, wherein the instructions are based at least in part on data representing information about the environment close to the coverage cell.

According to an embodiment, the data representative of information about the environment close to the coverage cell comprises at least one of a road site and a sports event site.

According to an embodiment, wherein adjusting service parameters of a coverage cell served by the eNB according to the instruction comprises reshaping the coverage cell.

Drawings

The embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals refer to like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates an environment in which Radio Link Failure (RLF) may be used to identify holes in the coverage area of an E-UTRAN, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 2A and 2B illustrate a service-starved geographic area and a coverage adjustment to provide additional services to the service-starved geographic area, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example coverage adjustment system, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of an example coverage adjustment process that can be performed by a Network Management (NM) device, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of an example coverage adjustment procedure that can be performed by an evolved node b (enb) in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a second example coverage adjustment process that may be performed by an NM apparatus according to various embodiments.

Fig. 7 is a flow diagram of a second example coverage adjustment procedure that can be performed by an eNB in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example computing device suitable for use in practicing the disclosed embodiments, in accordance with various embodiments.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of systems and techniques for coverage adjustment in E-UTRAN are described. In some embodiments, the NM apparatus may receive data representative of first and second Radio Link Failure (RLF) reports including information relating to disconnection of the first and second UEs, respectively, from the E-UTRAN. The NM apparatus may identify a hole in a coverage area of the E-UTRAN based at least in part on the first and second RLF reports, and may perform an automatic coverage adjustment action (e.g., a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) action) to reconfigure cell resources of the E-UTRAN based on the identified hole.

In some embodiments, the NM apparatus may receive data representative of performance of a service provided by the E-UTRAN. In particular, the data may represent service performance at a plurality of geographic locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN. The NM device may correlate the data to identify an out-of-service geographic area and may adjust one or more cells of the E-UTRNA to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area. Embodiments may be described and claimed.

Some of the systems and techniques disclosed herein may enable identification of coverage holes that cannot otherwise be detected. By correlating multiple RLF reports, the NM device or other component may identify RLF patterns that will be ignored during normal operation. Some of the systems and techniques disclosed herein may achieve service improvements in areas where service is lacking, however. For example, as disclosed herein, aggregated service performance information for informing E-UTRAN's cell adjustments may enable faster and more appropriate network resource reconfiguration in times and areas with high service demand. The present disclosure may be particularly advantageous in self-organizing network (SON) applications, including applications where network optimization is focused in one or more NM devices or other apparatuses.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way of illustration embodiments which may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the embodiments is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Various operations may in turn be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. The operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiments. Various additional operations may be performed and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrases "a and/or B" and "a or B" mean (a), (B), or (a and B). For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "A, B and/or C" means (a), (B), (C), (a and B), (a and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

The description may use the phrase "in embodiments," which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous.

As used herein, the term "module" or "circuit" may refer to, be part of, or include the following: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.

Referring now to fig. 1, an environment 100 is illustrated in which three enbs 102a, 102b and 102c provide service in respective coverage cells 104a, 104b and 104 c. In some embodiments, the eNBs 102a, 102b, and 102c may be part of an E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, the enbs 102a, 102b, and 102c may be base stations supporting one or more other Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access (UTRA) technology or global system for mobile communications enhanced data rates for Global Evolution Radio Access (GERA) technology. The enbs 102a, 102b, and 102c may provide services to one or more UEs located in the coverage cells 104a, 104b, and 104c, respectively.

In some embodiments, UEs served by the various enbs of fig. 1 may report the performance metrics to the serving eNB or other components of the RAT network periodically or aperiodically. These reports may include location information (e.g., coordinates or other information capable of determining an approximate location of the UE) for the UE. In some embodiments, performance metrics and site information may be provided to one or more centralized entities, such as NM equipment, so that sites with acceptable performance and sites with unacceptable performance may be identified.

For example, in fig. 1, UEs reporting acceptable performance metrics may be indicated by solid points 106 (only some of which are labeled in the figure for simplicity). UEs reporting unacceptable performance metrics may be indicated by "x" marks 108 in fig. 1 (again, only some "x" marks are labeled in the figure for clarity). Unacceptable performance may include, for example, a failure to achieve a desired signal strength level or a failure to successfully provide service to the UE device within a certain number of access attempts (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection attempts and/or random access attempts). In some embodiments, unacceptable performance is signaled by RLF reports from the UE. By analyzing the locations where unacceptable performance occurs, the NM device or other component of the network may identify the approximate boundaries covering the hole 110. Additional embodiments are described herein.

Referring now to fig. 2A, an environment 200a is illustrated in which multiple enbs (only some of which are labeled, 204a-204 g) are served in respective coverage cells (indicated by circles surrounding the enbs in fig. 2A). In some embodiments, the eNB of FIG. 2A may be part of an E-UTRAN. As discussed above with reference to fig. 1, the eNB of fig. 2A may be a base station supporting one or more other RATs, such as UTRA technology or GERA technology. The enbs of fig. 2A may provide service to one or more UEs located in their associated coverage cells.

Also shown in fig. 2A is a highway 206 that extends through the geographic area served by one or more of the enbs. A portion 208 of highway 206 is shaded to indicate that the portion exhibits a relatively high wireless traffic demand. The radio service requirements of portion 208 may arise for a number of reasons, such as the dynamics of the UE user and environmental information (e.g., infrastructure and usage of the built environment). For example, increased demand may be caused by highway rush hour traffic, vehicle accidents causing extended assistance, vacation trips, the beginning and/or end of a sporting event at a stadium (e.g., stadium). Any of a number of regular and irregular behaviors or conditions may make the wireless traffic demand within a cell or across adjacent or closely spaced cells uneven. In situations where wireless traffic demand increases, some UEs (particularly those located near portion 208 of highway 206) may urgently need the desired resources and may experience a lack of service.

In some embodiments, data representative of service capabilities of E-UTRAN or other networks supported by the eNB of fig. 2A may be provided to one or more centralized entities, such as NM equipment, such that a lack of service geographic area may be identified (e.g., portion 208). For example, data representing the number of active UEs in a given area, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, packet delay, drop rate, loss rate, and/or any of a number of other performance metrics may be used to identify out-of-service areas. Data representing environmental information such as the location of a highway or stadium may also be used in identifying areas of lack of service.

Once the out-of-service area has been identified, one or more cells supported by the eNB may be adjusted to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area. Such adjustments are illustrated in environment 200B of fig. 2B, where the cells associated with enbs 204B, 204c, 204e, and 204f have been adjusted to provide additional coverage to high wireless traffic demand portion 208 of highway 206. Cell adjustments may include reshaping cells by adjusting wireless antennas, making cells smaller to increase capacity, providing more power to antennas to increase the size of a cell, or any of a number of other adjustments. Additional embodiments are described herein.

Referring now to fig. 3, a block diagram of an example coverage adjustment system 300 is illustrated, in accordance with various embodiments. In particular, the system 300 may be used to implement any of the coverage adjustment systems and techniques described above with reference to fig. 1, 2A, and 2B. The system 300 may be configured to support a RAT, such as E-UTRAN. Examples of components of system 300 may be generally discussed with reference to the 3G LTE RAT, but system 300 may be used to implement other RATs (such as those discussed herein). The system 300 may be configured to distribute any of a number of services, such as multimedia distribution over HTTP, live streaming over RTP, conversational services (e.g., video conferencing), and TV broadcasting. System 300 may include other Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), and/or Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) devices such as network interface devices and peripherals (e.g., Network Interface Cards (NICs)), Access Points (APs), redistribution points, endpoints, gateways, bridges, hubs, and the like, to implement a cellular telephone system, a satellite system, a Personal Communication System (PCS), a two-way radio system, a one-way pager system, a two-way pager system, a Personal Computer (PC) system, a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) system, a Personal Computing Accessory (PCA) system, and/or any other suitable communication system. Although embodiments may be described in the context of an LTE network, embodiments may also be employed in other networks (e.g., WiMAX networks).

The system 300 may include an NM apparatus 302. In some embodiments, NM device 302 may monitor a component of system 300 and collect its performance measurements. Based on analysis of these measurements, NM device 302 may identify potential problems and improvements in the configuration and operation of components of system 300, and may implement changes to system 300. NM apparatus 302 may include a receiver circuit 322, an overlay analysis circuit 324, and a corrective action circuit 326.

The receiver circuit 322 may be configured to receive signals from other devices through wired or wireless connections. For example, the receiver circuitry 322 may be configured to receive signals from or transmit signals to Element Manager (EM) components of an eNB (e.g., any of the eNBs 308-312), Domain Management (DM) device 304 (which may provide management functions for a domain or other portion of the system 300), or any other suitably configured apparatus. In some embodiments, the NM device 302 may communicate with the eNB via a wired connection. In embodiments where receiver circuitry 322 is configured for wireless communication, receiver circuitry 322 may include, for example, one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas (not shown), such as dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas and/or other types of antennas suitable for reception of Radio Frequency (RF) or other wireless communication signals.

In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry 322 may be configured to receive data representative of the performance of services provided by the E-UTRAN (or other RAT network) supported by the system 300. The data may represent service performance at multiple geographic locations covered by one or more cells of an E-UTRAN or other RAT network. For example, the data may include information for one or more of a plurality of geographic locations, such as a number of active UEs, upload or download physical resource block usage, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, packet delay, dropped rate, and/or lost rate. In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry 322 may be configured to receive data from one or more enbs serving one or more cells. In some embodiments, receiver circuit 322 may be configured to receive data via interface-N (Itf-N).

In some embodiments, the receiver circuit 322 may be configured to receive data representative of the first RLF report. The first RLF report may include information relating to a disconnection of a first user UE (e.g., UE 314) from an E-UTRAN or other RAT supported by system 300. For example, the RLF report may include any of a number of measurements performed by the first UE or the first eNB or other device providing the first RLF report, such as one or more of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), an identifier of a cell to which the first UE was connected before the first UE was disconnected from the RAT, location information (e.g., information about the location of the first UE when the disconnection occurred), and a timestamp representing the time of the disconnection. The receiver circuitry 322 may be configured to receive data representative of the first RLF report from a first eNB serving the first UE (e.g., eNB 308 when it serves UE 314). In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry 322 may be configured to receive data from the eNB when the first UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN or other RAT supported by the system 300.

In some embodiments, the receiver circuit 322 may be configured to receive a second RLF report. The second RLF report may include information relating to a disconnection of the second UE from the E-UTRAN or other RATs supported by system 300. The information comprised in the second RLF report may comprise any of the information types described above with reference to the first RLF report. In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry 322 may be configured to receive data representative of the second RLF report from a second eNB serving the second UE. The receiver circuitry 322 may be configured to receive data representing the second RLF report when the second UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN or other RAT supported by the system 300. In some embodiments, the first and second enbs may be a common eNB (e.g., eNB 308). In some embodiments, the first and second enbs may be different enbs (e.g., enbs 310 and 308).

In some embodiments, data representative of service performance (e.g., RLF reports and other data) may be communicated to NM device 302 by DM device 304 in communication with one or more enbs (e.g., enbs 308 and 310, as shown). In some embodiments, RLF reports and other service performance data may be communicated to NM device 302 by TCE306 in communication with a DM device (e.g., DM device 304) and/or one or more enbs (e.g., eNB 308, as shown).

The NM apparatus 302 may include a coverage analysis circuit 324. In some embodiments, coverage analysis circuitry 324 and corrective action circuitry 326 may be included in a centralized Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component 342 of NM device 302. In some embodiments, coverage analysis circuit 326 may be configured to correlate data received by receiver circuit 322 to identify an out-of-service geographic area (e.g., portion 208 of highway 206 of fig. 2A). Correlating data may include associating multiple reports or measurements with the same user session occurrence or the same geographic region, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the coverage analysis circuitry 324 may be configured to identify holes in the coverage area of the RAT (e.g., E-UTRAN technology) supported by the system 300 based at least in part on the plurality of RLF reports (e.g., the first and second RLF reports discussed above). For example, in some embodiments, the coverage analysis circuitry 324 may identify holes in the coverage area of the E-UTRAN by correlating multiple RLF reports (e.g., first and second RLF reports).

In some embodiments, the coverage analysis circuitry 324 may be configured to access data representative of environmental information (e.g., infrastructure and usage of the built-up environment). Examples of such data may include the location of roads, stadiums, tall buildings, or any other information about the environment within a cell that may affect the distribution of wireless services. Such data may also include time information regarding the use of the infrastructure of the built-up environment, such as a sporting event schedule or a rush hour schedule. In some embodiments, the coverage analysis circuitry 324 may correlate data representative of service performance (e.g., as discussed above) with data representative of an established environment to identify geographic areas lacking service. For example, if poor performance is reported at several geographic locations known to be located along a particular portion of a highway, the coverage analysis circuitry 324 may identify out-of-service areas across that portion of the highway.

In some embodiments, the coverage analysis circuitry 324 may be configured to initiate a zone-based Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) procedure on one or more enbs associated with cells nominally covering an identified hole or area of lack of service (e.g., those cells that would provide coverage to the hole if no obstructions or abnormal traffic demands were present). Such MDT procedures may include many automated measurement collection and data logging processes at a UE, eNB, or other component in a wireless network, which may produce data useful for diagnostic and coverage analysis purposes. For example, an MDT procedure may be performed on each of a plurality of cells nominally covering an identified hole to diagnose the location and size of the hole.

The NM apparatus may include a corrective action circuit 326. The corrective action circuit 326 may be configured to recommend and/or perform corrective actions based on the out-of-service geographic areas (e.g., coverage holes) identified by the coverage analysis circuit 324. For example, in some embodiments, corrective action circuit 326 may be configured to perform an automatic CCO action based on the identified hole to reconfigure cell resources of the E-UTRAN or other network supported by system 300. Reconfiguring cell resources may include, for example, changing the power associated with a cell antenna or changing the shape of a cell, etc.

In some embodiments, corrective action circuit 326 may be configured to adjust one or more cells of the E-UTRAN or other network to provide additional services to the identified geographic area lacking service. In some embodiments, such adjustments may include making one or more cells smaller to boost capacity in the out-of-service geographic area, reshaping one or more cells by adjusting one or more corresponding antennas (e.g., by aligning a longitudinal axis of one or more cells with a longitudinal axis of one or more roads, as illustrated by the cells associated with enbs 204B and 204c of fig. 2B), making one or more cells larger to cover at least a portion of the out-of-service geographic area, any combination of these adjustments, or any other suitable adjustment. In some embodiments, the command to perform the corrective action may be communicated to one or more components of the system 300, such as one or more of the eNB 308-312 or the UE 314-320. In some embodiments, the coverage analysis circuitry 324 and/or the corrective action circuitry 326 may include a display or other output configured to provide coverage information or corrective action recommendations to an operator who may then intervene as appropriate.

System 300 may include one or more eNBs, such as eNB 308 and 312. Each of the eNBs 308-312 may include many components; for ease of illustration, only the components of eNB 308 are shown in fig. 3. Enbs other than eNB 308 may have similar components. Components of the eNB 308 (discussed in detail below) may be included in one or more of the enbs shown in fig. 1, 2A, and 2B.

As shown, eNB 308 may include transmitter circuitry 328. Transmitter circuitry 328 may be configured to transmit wireless signals to other devices. For example, transmitter circuitry 328 may be configured to transmit wireless signals to NM device 302, DM device 304, TCE 206, UE 314, or other apparatus suitably configured for wireless communication. As discussed above, transmitter circuitry 328 may include, for example, one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas (not shown). In some embodiments, transmitter circuitry 328 may be configured to transmit data representative of performance of services provided by an E-UTRAN or other network supported by eNB 308 within a coverage cell served by eNB 308 to NM device 302. For example, as discussed above, the data may include one or more of a number of active UEs, upload or download PRB usage, IP throughput, packet delay, dropped rate, and/or lost rate. In some embodiments, transmitter circuitry 328 may be configured to transmit data representative of the RLF report to CCO component 342 of NM device 302. As discussed above, the NM device 302 may use data representative of RLF reports in identifying holes in the coverage area of the E-UTRAN or other network supported by the system 300. In some embodiments, transmitter circuit 328 may be configured to transmit data over Itf-N.

The eNB 308 may include first receiver circuitry 330. The first receiver circuit 330 may be configured to receive signals from other devices via a wired or wireless connection. The first receiver circuit 330 may be configured to receive signals from the NM device 302, the DM device 304, the TCE306, or other apparatus suitably configured for communication. For example, the connection between the first receiver circuit 330 and the TCE306 may be a wired connection. In embodiments where the first receiver circuitry 330 is configured for wireless communication, the first receiver circuitry 330 may include, for example, one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas (not shown), as discussed above.

In some embodiments, the first receiver circuitry 330 may be configured to receive instructions to adjust service parameters of a coverage cell served by the eNB 308 to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, the instruction may come from corrective action circuitry 326 of NM device 302. The out-of-service geographic area may be identified by coverage analysis circuitry 324 of the NM apparatus 302 based at least in part on data transmitted to the NM apparatus 302, e.g., by transmitter circuitry 328 of the eNB 308. In some embodiments, as discussed above, NM apparatus 302 may be configured to identify an out-of-service geographic area based, at least in part, on data representative of performance of services provided by an E-UTRAN in one or more coverage cells served by one or more eNBs other than eNB 308 (e.g., eNBs 310 and 312). In some embodiments, the instructions received at the first receiver circuitry 330 may be based, at least in part, on data representing information about the environment (e.g., the location of a road and/or the location of a sporting event) proximate to the coverage cell served by the eNB 308. In some embodiments, first receiver circuitry 330 may be configured to receive a region-based MDT query (as discussed above) from CCO component 342 after transmitter circuitry 328 transmits data representing RLF reports to CCO component 342 of NM apparatus 302 in some embodiments.

The eNB 308 may include second receiver circuitry 332. Similar to the first receiver circuit 330, the second receiver circuit 332 may be configured to receive wireless signals from other devices. For example, the second receiver circuitry 330 may be configured to receive wireless signals from the UE 214 or other device suitably configured for wireless communication. The second receiver circuitry 332 may include, for example, one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas (not shown), as discussed above. In some embodiments, the first receiver circuit 330 and the second receiver circuit 332 may be the same circuit, or may share a common circuit. In some embodiments, the second receiver circuitry 332 may be configured to receive RLF reports from a UE (e.g., UE 314). The RLF report (as discussed above) may include information relating to a previous disconnection of a UE (e.g., UE 314) from the E-UTRAN or other network supported by system 300. In some embodiments, the UE may generate an RLF report when the UE has previously disconnected from the E-UTRAN or other network. In some embodiments, information relating to a previous disconnection of the UE from the E-UTRAN or other network may include RSRP, RSRQ, an identifier of the overlay cell (within which the UE is located), location information, and a timestamp representing the time of the disconnection.

The eNB 308 may include service providing circuitry 344. The service provisioning circuitry 344 may provide E-UTRAN or other services to UEs (e.g., UE 314) located within the coverage cell of eNB 308. In some embodiments, the service providing circuitry 344 may be configured to adjust one or more service parameters of a coverage cell served by the eNB 308 to adjust the coverage of the cell. In some embodiments, service providing circuitry 344 may adjust one or more service parameters according to instructions provided by NM apparatus 302 (e.g., by corrective action circuitry 326). Adjusting the service parameters of the coverage cell served by the eNB may include reshaping the coverage cell or performing any of a number of other adjustments (e.g., as described above). In some embodiments, the service providing circuit 344 may be integrated with the transmitter circuit 328 and other components or operatively connected to the transmitter circuit 328.

In some embodiments, the service provision circuitry 344 or the transmitter circuitry 328 may be configured to transmit parameters representative of measurements that should be performed by the UE to the UE (e.g., the UE 314) as service performance data and/or along with the RLF report. For example, these parameters may represent one or more of RSRP, RSRQ, cell identifiers, location information, and timestamps representing times of events involving RLF or other disconnection or lack of service. In some embodiments, the parameters may be selected by an eNB (e.g., eNB 308), a DM device (e.g., DM device 304), an NM device (e.g., NM device 302), another component or combination of components of system 300.

The system 300 may include one or more UEs, such as the UE 314 and 220. One or more of the UEs 314 and 220 may comprise any of a number of wireless electronic devices such as, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a pager, an audio and/or video player (e.g., an MP3 player or a DVD player), a gaming device, a video camera, a digital camera, a navigation device (e.g., a GPS device), a wireless peripheral (e.g., a printer, a scanner, headphones, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.), a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), and/or other suitable stationary, portable, or mobile electronic device. In some embodiments, one or more of the UEs 314 and 220 may be mobile wireless devices, such as PDAs, cellular phones, tablets, or laptops. Each of the UEs 314-220 may include a number of components; for ease of illustration, only the components of the UE 314 are shown in fig. 3. UEs other than UE 314 may have similar components.

As shown, the UE 314 may include receiver circuitry 334. The receiver circuit 334 may be configured to receive signals from other devices. For example, the receiver circuitry 334 may be configured to receive wireless signals from the eNB 308 or other apparatus suitably configured for wireless communication. As discussed above, the receiver circuitry 334 may include, for example, one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas (not shown). In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry 334 may be configured to receive a command from an eNB serving the UE 314 (e.g., eNB 308) to cause the UE 314 to handover to a different eNB or to adjust another parameter of the operation of the UE 314. The receiver circuitry 334 may be configured to receive instructions from the eNB 308 regarding measurements that the UE 314 should perform for the purpose of monitoring service performance. The receiver circuitry 334 may also be configured to receive data related to one or more services provided to the UE 314 by the eNB 308 or other devices (e.g., wireless multimedia services).

The UE 314 may include transmitter circuitry 336. Transmitter circuitry 336 may be configured to transmit wireless signals to other devices. For example, the transmitter circuitry 336 may be configured to transmit wireless signals to the eNB 308 or other apparatus suitably configured for wireless communication. Transmitter circuitry 336 may include, for example, one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas (not shown), as discussed above. In some embodiments, the transmitter circuitry 336 may be configured to transmit one or more measurements (e.g., RLF-related measurements) relating to service performance performed by the UE 314 to the eNB 308 or another component of the system 300.

The UE 314 may include measurement circuitry 340. The measurement circuit 340 may be configured to perform one or more measurements discussed above with reference to the receiver circuit 334 and the transmitter circuit 336. In particular, in some embodiments, the one or more measurements may include RSRP, RSRQ, an identifier of a cell to which the UE was connected prior to the disconnection, location information, and a timestamp representing the time of an event involving RLF or other disconnection or lack of service.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram of an example coverage adjustment process 400 that may be performed by an NM apparatus (e.g., NM apparatus 302 of FIG. 3) is illustrated, in accordance with various embodiments. It may be appreciated that although the operations of process 400 (as well as the other processes described herein) are arranged in a particular order and are illustrated once each, in various embodiments, one or more of the operations may be repeated, omitted, or performed out of order. For purposes of illustration, the operations of process 400 may be described as being performed by NM apparatus 302 (FIG. 3), although process 400 may be performed by any suitably configured device.

Process 400 may begin at operation 402, where NM device 302 may receive data representing a first RLF report including information relating to a disconnection of a first UE from an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). In some embodiments, operation 402 may be performed by receiver circuitry 322 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, operation 302 may include receiving data representative of the first RLF report from a first eNB serving the first UE when the first UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, the information relating to the disconnection of the first UE from the E-UTRAN comprises one or more of RSRP, RSRQ, an identifier of a cell to which the first UE was connected prior to the disconnection of the first UE from the E-UTRAN, location information, and a timestamp representing a time of the disconnection.

In operation 404, the NM device 302 may receive data representing a second RLF report comprising information relating to a disconnection of the second UE from the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, operation 404 may be performed by receiver circuitry 322 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, operation 404 may include receiving data representative of the second RLF report from a second eNB serving the second UE when the second UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN. The first and second enbs may be common enbs or may be different enbs.

At operation 406, the NM apparatus 302 may identify a hole in a coverage area of the E-UTRAN based at least in part on the first and second RLF reports (received at operations 402 and 404). In some embodiments, operation 406 may be performed by the coverage analysis circuitry 324 (fig. 3). At operation 408, the NM apparatus 302 may initiate a region-based MDT procedure on one or more enbs associated with cells nominally covering the hole identified at operation 406. In some embodiments, operation 408 may be performed by analysis override circuitry 324 (fig. 3). In operation 410, the NM apparatus may perform an automatic CCO action to reconfigure cell resources of the E-UTRAN based on the hole identified in operation 406. In some embodiments, operation 410 may be performed by corrective action circuitry 326 (fig. 3). Process 400 may then end.

Referring now to fig. 5, a flow diagram of an example coverage adjustment procedure 500 that can be performed by an eNB (e.g., eNB 308 of fig. 3) in accordance with various embodiments is illustrated. For purposes of illustration, the operations of procedure 500 may be described as being performed by eNB 308 (fig. 3), although procedure 500 may be performed by any suitably configured apparatus.

Process 500 may begin at operation 502, where eNB 308 may provide services of an E-UTRAN to UEs located within a coverage cell of eNB 308. In some embodiments, operation 502 may be performed by service providing circuitry 344 (fig. 3). At operation 504, the eNB 308 may receive an RLF report from the UE that includes information related to the UE's previous disconnection from the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, operation 504 may be performed by the second receiver circuit 332 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, the UE may generate an RLF report when the UE previously disconnected from the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, the information relating to a previous disconnection of the UE from the E-UTRAN comprises one or more of RSRP, RSRQ, an identifier of a coverage cell, location information, and a timestamp representing a time of the disconnection.

At operation 506, the eNB 308 may transmit data representing the RLF report to a CCO component (e.g., CCO component 342) of an NM device (e.g., NM device 302) of the E-UTRAN for use in identifying a hole in a coverage cell of the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, operation 506 may be performed by transmitter circuitry 328 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, operation 308 may comprise transferring data over Itf-N.

In operation 508, the eNB 308 may receive a region-based MDT query from a CCO component (e.g., the CCO component 342) after transmitting data representing the RLF report to the CCO component of the NM device of the E-UTRAN in accordance with operation 506. In some embodiments, operation 508 may be performed by the first receiver circuit 330 (fig. 3). Process 500 may then end.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram of a second example coverage adjustment process 600 that may be performed by an NM apparatus (e.g., NM apparatus 302 of FIG. 3) is illustrated, in accordance with various embodiments. For purposes of illustration, the operations of process 600 may be described as being performed by NM apparatus 302 (FIG. 3), although process 600 may be performed by any suitably configured device.

The process 600 may begin at operation 602, where the NM device 302 may receive data representative of performance of a service provided by the E-UTRAN. The data may represent service performance at a plurality of geographic locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, operation 602 may be performed by receiver circuitry 322 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, operation 602 may include receiving data from one or more enbs serving one or more cells of the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, operation 602 may include receiving data via Itf-N. In some embodiments, the data may include one or more of a number of active UEs, upload or download PRB usage, IP throughput, packet delay, dropped rate, and lost rate.

At operation 604, the NM device 302 may access data representing the environment information. In some embodiments, operation 604 may be performed by the coverage analysis circuitry 324 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, the data representative of environmental information includes at least one of a road location and a stadium location. In some embodiments, operation 604 may be optional.

At operation 606, NM device 302 may correlate the data received at operation 602 (and optionally at operation 604) to identify an out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, operation 606 may be performed by the coverage analysis circuitry 324 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, operation 606 may include correlating the data representative of the service performance (received at operation 602) with the data representative of the environmental information (received at operation 604).

In operation 608, the NM apparatus 302 may perform an automatic CCO action to adjust one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, operation 606 may be performed by corrective action circuitry 326 (FIG. 3). In some embodiments, operation 608 may include making one or more cells smaller to boost capacity in the out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, operation 608 may comprise reshaping one or more cells by adjusting one or more corresponding antennas. In some embodiments, operation 608 may comprise approximately aligning a longitudinal axis of the one or more cells with a longitudinal axis of the one or more roads. In some embodiments, operation 608 may comprise making one or more cells larger to cover at least a portion of the out-of-service geographic area. Process 600 may then end.

Referring now to fig. 7, a flow diagram of an example coverage adjustment procedure 700 that can be performed by an eNB (e.g., eNB 308 of fig. 3) in accordance with various embodiments is illustrated. For purposes of illustration, the operations of procedure 700 may be described as being performed by eNB 308 (fig. 3), although procedure 700 may be performed by any suitably configured apparatus.

Process 700 may begin at operation 702, where eNB 308 transmits data to a CCO component of the NM device (e.g., CCO component 342 of NM device 302). The data may represent performance of a service provided by an E-UTRAN associated with the eNB 308 within a coverage cell served by the eNB 308. In some embodiments, operation 702 may be performed by transmitter circuitry 328 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, the data may include one or more of a number of active UEs, upload or download PRB usage, IP throughput, packet delay, dropped rate, and lost rate.

At operation 704, the eNB 308 may receive instructions from an NM device (e.g., NM device 302) to adjust service parameters of a coverage cell served by the eNB 308 to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, the out-of-service geographic area may be identified by the NM device based at least in part on data transmitted to the NM device by eNB 308 at operation 702. In some embodiments, operation 704 may be performed by first receiver circuit 330 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, the out-of-service geographic area may be identified by the NM device based, at least in part, on data representative of performance of a service provided by the E-UTRAN within one or more coverage cells served by one or more enbs other than eNB 308. In some embodiments, the instructions may be based, at least in part, on data representing information about the environment proximate the coverage cell (e.g., the location of a road and/or the location of a stadium).

At operation 706, the eNB 308 may adjust the service parameters of the coverage cell according to the instructions received at operation 704. In some embodiments, operation 706 may be performed by service providing circuitry 344 (fig. 3). In some embodiments, operation 706 may comprise reshaping the coverage cell. The operations 700 may then end.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example computing device 800 that may be suitable for use in practicing the various disclosed embodiments. For example, some or all of the components of the computing apparatus 800 may be used in any of an NM device (e.g., NM device 302 of FIG. 3), a DM device (e.g., DM device 304 of FIG. 3), a TCE (e.g., TCE306 of FIG. 3), an eNB (e.g., eNBs 102a-102c of FIG. 1, eNBs 504a-504g of FIG. 2, and eNB 308-312 of FIG. 3), or a UE (e.g., UE 314-220 of FIG. 3). The computing device 800 may include a number of components including one or more processors 804 and at least one communication chip 806. In various embodiments, processor 804 may include a processor core. In various embodiments, the at least one communication chip 806 may also be physically and electrically coupled to the processor 804. In further implementations, the communication chip 806 may be part of the processor 804. In various embodiments, computing device 800 may include PCB 802. For these embodiments, the processor 804 and the communication chip 806 may be disposed thereon. In alternative embodiments, the various components may be coupled without employing the PCB 802. The communication chip 806 may be included in any of the receiver and/or transmitter circuits described herein.

The computing device 800 may include other components that may or may not be physically and electrically coupled to the PCB 802 depending on its application. These other components include, but are not limited to, volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory 808, also referred to as DRAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., read only memory 810 (also referred to as ROM), one or more hard disk drives, one or more solid state drives, one or more compact disk drives, and/or one or more digital versatile disk drives), flash memory 812, input/output controller 814, digital signal processor(s) (not shown), encryption processor(s) (not shown), graphics processor 816, one or more antennas 818, touchscreen display 820, touchscreen controller 822, other displays (e.g., liquid crystal display, cathode ray tube display, and electronic ink display, not shown), battery 824, audio codec (not shown), video codec (not shown), A Global Positioning System (GPS) device 828, a compass 830, an accelerometer (not shown), a gyroscope (not shown), a speaker 832, a camera 834, and a mass storage device (e.g., hard drive, solid state drive, Compact Disc (CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)) (not shown)), and the like. In various embodiments, processor 804 may be integrated with other components on the same chip to form a system on a chip (SoC).

In various embodiments, volatile memory (e.g., DRAM 808), non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM 810), flash memory 812, and mass storage may include programming instructions configured to enable computing device 800, in response to execution by processor 804, to practice all or selected aspects of the processes described herein. For example, one or more of the memory components, such as volatile memory (e.g., DRAM 808), non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM 810), flash memory 812, and mass storage, may include temporary and/or persistent copies of instructions that, when executed, enable computing device 800 to operate control module 836 configured to practice all or selected aspects of the processes described herein. The memory accessible by computing device 800 may include: one or more storage resources that are physically part of a device on which the computing device 800 is installed; and/or one or more storage resources that are accessible by, but not necessarily a part of, computing device 800. For example, the storage resources may be accessed by the computing device 800 over a network via the communication chip 806.

The communication chip 806 may enable wired and/or wireless communication for transferring data to and from the computing device 800. The term "wireless" and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, but in some embodiments they may not. Many of the embodiments described herein may be used with WiFi and 3GPP/LTE communication systems. However, the communication chip 806 may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including, but not limited to, IEEE 702.20, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), evolution data optimized (Ev-DO), evolution high speed packet access (HSPA +), evolution high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA +), evolution high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA +), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Bluetooth, derivatives thereof, and any other wireless protocol designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The computing device 800 may include a plurality of communication chips 806. For example, the first communication chip 806 may be dedicated to shorter range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and the second communication chip 806 may be dedicated to longer range wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Ev-DO, and others.

In various embodiments, the computing device 800 may be a laptop, a netbook, a notebook, an ultrabook, a smartphone, a computing tablet, a personal digital assistant, an ultra mobile PC, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a server, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment control unit (e.g., a game console), a digital camera, a portable music player, or a digital video recorder. In further implementations, the computing device 800 may be any other electronic device that processes data.

The following paragraphs describe examples of various embodiments. In various embodiments, the NM apparatus includes receiver circuitry to receive data representative of a first RLF report including information relating to a disconnection of a first UE from an E-UTRAN, and to receive data representative of a second RLF report including information relating to a disconnection of a second UE from an E-UTRAN. The NM apparatus further comprises: coverage analysis circuitry to identify a hole in a coverage area of the E-UTRAN based at least in part on the first and second RLF reports; and corrective action circuitry to perform an automatic CCO action based on the identified hole to reconfigure cell resources of the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, the information relating to the disconnection of the first UE from the E-UTRAN comprises RSRP, RSRQ, an identifier of a cell to which the first UE was connected before the first UE was disconnected from the E-UTRAN, location information, or a timestamp representing a time of the disconnection. In some embodiments, receiving the data representative of the first RLF report includes receiving the data representative of the first RLF report from a first eNB serving the first UE when the first UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, receiving the data representative of the second RLF report comprises receiving the data representative of the second RLF report from a second eNB serving the second UE when the second UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN, and the first and second enbs are common enbs. In some embodiments, receiving the data representative of the second RLF report comprises receiving the data representative of the second RLF report from a second eNB serving the second UE when the second UE reconnects to the E-UTRAN, and the first and second enbs are different enbs. In some embodiments, wherein the coverage analysis circuitry is further to initiate an area-based Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) procedure on an evolved node B associated with a cell nominally covering the identified hole. Some embodiments of the NM apparatus include combinations of the foregoing, and/or means for performing the operations performed by the foregoing.

In various embodiments, the eNB comprises: service providing circuitry to provide E-UTRAN services to UEs located within a coverage cell of an eNB; receiver circuitry to receive an RLF report from the UE that includes information relating to a previous disconnection of the UE from the E-UTRAN; and a transmitter circuit for transmitting data representing the RLF report to a CCO component of the NM device of the E-UTRAN for use in identifying a hole in a coverage area of the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, the transmitter circuit further transmits data over Itf-N. In some embodiments, the UE generates the RLF report when the UE previously disconnected from the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, the information relating to a previous disconnection of the UE from the E-UTRAN comprises one or more of RSRP, RSRQ, an overlay cell identifier, location information, and a timestamp representing a time of disconnection. In some embodiments, the eNB further includes second receiver circuitry to receive, from the CCO component, the region-based MDT query after the transmitter circuitry transmits the data representative of the RLF report to the CCO component of the NM device of the E-UTRAN. Some embodiments of the eNB include combinations of the foregoing, and/or means for performing the operations performed by the foregoing.

In various embodiments, the NM apparatus comprises: a receiver circuit for receiving data representative of performance of a service provided by the E-UTRAN at a plurality of geographical locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN; coverage analysis circuitry to correlate the data to identify out-of-service geographic areas; and corrective action circuitry to adjust one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, the data includes one or more of a number of active UEs, upload or download physical resource block usage, IP throughput, packet delay, dropped rate, and lost rate. In some embodiments, the coverage analysis circuitry further accesses the data representative of the environmental information and correlating the data to identify the geographic area lacking service includes correlating the data representative of service performance with the data representative of the environmental information. In some embodiments, the data representative of environmental information includes a location of a road or a stadium. In some embodiments, adjusting one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional service to the out-of-service geographic area includes making the one or more cells smaller to increase capacity in the out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, adjusting one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional services to the out-of-service geographic area includes reshaping the one or more cells by adjusting one or more corresponding antennas. In some embodiments, reshaping the one or more cells by adjusting the one or more corresponding antennas includes approximately aligning a longitudinal axis of the one or more cells with a longitudinal axis of the one or more roads. In some embodiments, adjusting one or more cells of the E-UTRAN to provide additional service to the out-of-service geographic area includes making the one or more cells larger to cover at least a portion of the out-of-service geographic area. In some embodiments, receiving data representative of service performance at a plurality of geographic locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN includes receiving data from one or more eNBs serving the one or more cells of the E-UTRAN. In some embodiments, receiving data representative of service performance at a plurality of geographic locations covered by one or more cells of the E-UTRAN includes receiving data via Itf-N. Some embodiments of the NM apparatus include combinations of the foregoing, and/or means for performing the operations performed by the foregoing.

In various embodiments, an eNB associated with an E-UTRAN includes: transmitter circuitry to transmit data to the NM device, the data representative of performance of a service provided by the E-UTRAN in a coverage cell served by the eNB; receiver circuitry to receive instructions from the NM device to adjust service parameters of a coverage cell served by the eNB to provide additional services to a service-deficient geographic area identified by the NM device based at least in part on data communicated by the eNB to the NM device; and a service providing circuit for adjusting service parameters of the coverage cell according to the instruction. In some embodiments, the service lack geographic area is identified by the NM device based at least in part on data representative of performance of a service provided by the E-UTRAN within one or more coverage cells served by one or more other enbs. In some embodiments, the data includes one or more of a number of active UEs, upload or download physical resource block usage, IP throughput, packet delay, dropped rate, and lost rate. In some embodiments, the instructions are based at least in part on data representing information about the environment near the coverage cell. In some embodiments, the data representative of information about the environment proximate the coverage cell comprises at least one of a road site and a sporting event site. In some embodiments, adjusting service parameters of a coverage cell served by the eNB according to the instructions comprises reshaping the coverage cell. Some embodiments of the eNB include combinations of the foregoing, and/or means for performing the operations performed by the foregoing.

Computer-readable media (including non-transitory computer-readable media), methods, systems, and apparatuses for performing the techniques described above are illustrative examples of embodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, other devices may be configured to perform the various disclosed techniques.

Although certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for purposes of description, a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for the embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that the embodiments described herein be limited only by the claims.

Where the disclosure recites "a" or "a first" element or the equivalent thereof, such disclosure includes one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. Moreover, ordinal indicators (e.g., first, second or third) for identified elements are used to distinguish between the elements, and do not indicate or imply a required or limited number of such elements, nor do they indicate a particular position or order of such elements unless otherwise specifically stated.

Claims

1. A method executable by a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the method comprising:

receiving, by the CCO component, service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells, wherein each E-UTRAN cell of the one or more E-UTRAN cells is provided by at least one evolved node B (eNB);

determining, by the CCO component, a coverage area to adjust based on the service performance data; and

transmitting, by the CCO component, an instruction to change a service parameter of at least one of the one or more E-UTRAN cells to adjust the coverage area.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

correlating, by the CCO component, the service performance data with environmental information, a same user session, or a same geographic region.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the coverage area is a cell coverage area of the at least one E-UTRAN cell.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the instruction is to instruct the at least one E-UTRAN cell to increase the size of the cell coverage area to extend the cell coverage area into a coverage hole between two or more of the one or more E-UTRAN cells.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the service parameter is one or more of a size of the at least one E-UTRAN cell or a capacity of the at least one E-UTRAN cell.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, or environmental information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the service performance data comprises one or more measurements collected by one or more eNBs.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more Radio Link Failure (RLF) reports indicating RLF data, wherein the RLF data comprises one or more of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements, or Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure events.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the RSRP measurement comprises location information or the RSRQ measurement comprises location information.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting, by the CCO component, another instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by one or more eNBs associated with the determined coverage area;

receiving, by the CCO component, MDT data based on the results of the one or more MDTs; and

correlating, by the CCO component, the MDT data with the RLF data reported by the one or more RLFs and one or more of: a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, or context information.

11. An apparatus to implement a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from one or more evolved node Bs (eNBs), service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells provided by the one or more eNBs, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, or environmental information;

means for identifying an out-of-service area based on the service performance data;

means for transmitting, to a set of eNBs of the one or more eNBs, a first instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by the set of eNBs, wherein an eNB of the set of eNBs is associated with the determined coverage area;

means for determining a coverage area to adjust based on results of the one or more MDTs; and

means for transmitting, to at least one eNB of the set of eNBs, a second instruction to adjust a service parameter of an E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB to adjust the coverage area.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the means for identifying an out-of-service area comprises:

means for correlating the service performance data with context information, a same user session, or a same geographical area.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12, wherein

The coverage area is a cell coverage area of the E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB, an

The service parameter is one or more of a size of a coverage area of the E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB or a capacity of the E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the second instructions are for instructing the at least one E-UTRAN cell to increase the size of the cell coverage area to extend the cell coverage area into a coverage hole between two or more of the one or more E-UTRAN cells.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12, wherein at least a portion of the service performance data comprises one or more measurements collected by the one or more enbs and another portion of the service performance data comprises one or more measurements collected by one or more UEs.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12, wherein the service performance data further comprises one or more of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure event, wherein the RSRP measurement comprises location information, or the RSRQ measurement comprises location information, and wherein the apparatus further comprises:

means for correlating the result of the MDT with one or more of the RSRP measurement, the RSRQ measurement, the RRC failure event, or the location information.

17. A method executable by a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the method comprising:

receiving, by the CCO component from one or more evolved node bs (enbs), service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells provided by the one or more enbs, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure event;

identifying, by the CCO component, an out-of-service area based on a correlation of the service performance data with environmental information, a same user session, or a same geographic area;

transmitting, by the CCO component, a first instruction to a set of eNBs of the one or more eNBs to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by the set of eNBs, wherein the set of eNBs is associated with the determined coverage area;

determining, by the CCO component, a coverage area to adjust based on a result of the MDT; and

transmitting, by the CCO component, a second instruction to at least one eNB of the set of eNBs to adjust a service parameter of an E-UTRAN cell provided by the at least one eNB to adjust the coverage area.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second instructions are for instructing the at least one E-UTRAN cell to increase the size of the cell coverage area to extend the cell coverage area into a coverage hole between two or more of the one or more E-UTRAN cells.

20. The method of any of claims 17-19, wherein the service performance data further comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, or environmental information.

21. The method of any of claims 17-19, wherein the RSRP measurement or the RSRQ measurement includes location information, and the method comprises:

correlating, by the CCO component, the result of the MDT with one or more of the RSRP measurement, the RSRQ measurement, the RRC failure event, or the location information.

22. A method executable by an evolved node b (enb), the method comprising:

transmitting, by the eNB to a Network Management (NM) device, service performance data of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cell provided by the eNB;

receiving, by the eNB from the NM device, instructions to adjust service parameters of the E-UTRAN cell based on the service performance data; and

adjusting, by the eNB, the service parameter of the E-UTRAN cell, wherein the service parameter is at least one of a size of a coverage area of the E-UTRAN cell or a capacity of the E-UTRAN cell.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein adjusting the service parameter of the E-UTRAN cell comprises:

adjusting, by the eNB, one or more antennas of the eNB; or

Controlling, by the eNB, power output to the one or more antennas.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, environmental information, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, or Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure event.

25. The method of any of claims 22-24, wherein the instruction is a first instruction, and the method comprises:

receiving, by the eNB from the NM device, a second instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs);

transmitting, by the eNB to one or more UEs, third instructions to initiate one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures in accordance with the one or more MDTs;

receiving, by the eNB from the one or more UEs, MDT results based on the one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures; and

transmitting, by the eNB, the MDT result to the NM device, an

Wherein the first instructions for adjusting the service parameters are further based on the MDT results.

26. The method of any of claims 22-24, wherein the instruction is a first instruction, and wherein the method comprises:

initiating, by the eNB, one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures in accordance with the one or more MDTs;

determining, by the eNB, an MDT result based on the one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures; and

transmitting, by the eNB, the MDT result to the NM device, an

27. An apparatus to implement a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells, wherein each of the one or more E-UTRAN cells is provided by at least one evolved node B (eNB);

means for determining a coverage area to adjust based on the service performance data; and

means for transmitting an instruction to change a service parameter of at least one of the one or more E-UTRAN cells to adjust the coverage area.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the coverage area is a cell coverage area of the at least one E-UTRAN cell.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the instructions are for instructing the at least one E-UTRAN cell to increase the size of the cell coverage area to extend the cell coverage area into a coverage hole between two or more of the one or more E-UTRAN cells.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the service parameter is one or more of a size of the at least one E-UTRAN cell or a capacity of the at least one E-UTRAN cell.

32. The apparatus of any of claims 27-31, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, or environmental information.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein at least a portion of the service performance data comprises one or more measurements collected by one or more enbs.

34. The device of claim 27, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more Radio Link Failure (RLF) reports indicating RLF data, wherein the RLF data comprises one or more of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements, or Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure events.

35. The device of claim 34, wherein the RSRP measurement comprises location information or the RSRQ measurement comprises location information.

36. The apparatus of any of claims 34-35, further comprising:

means for transmitting another instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by one or more eNBs associated with the determined coverage area;

means for receiving MDT data based on a result of the one or more MDTs; and

means for correlating the MDT data with the RLF data reported by the one or more RLFs and one or more of: a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, or context information.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the apparatus is a Network Management (NM) apparatus.

38. An apparatus to implement a Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) component, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from one or more evolved node Bs (eNBs), service performance data for one or more evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cells provided by the one or more eNBs, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure event;

means for identifying an out-of-service area based on a correlation of the service performance data with environmental information, a same user session, or a same geographic area;

means for transmitting, to a set of eNBs of the one or more eNBs, a first instruction to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) by the set of eNBs, wherein the set of eNBs is associated with the determined coverage area;

means for determining a coverage area to adjust based on a result of the MDT; and

39. The device of claim 38, wherein the service performance data further comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, packet delay, dropped rate, lost rate, or environmental information.

40. The apparatus of claim 38 or 39, wherein

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the second instructions are for instructing the at least one E-UTRAN cell to increase a size of the cell coverage area to extend the cell coverage area into a coverage hole between two or more of the one or more E-UTRAN cells.

42. The device of claim 40, wherein the RSRP measurement or the RSRQ measurement includes location information, and wherein the device comprises:

43. An apparatus implemented in an evolved node b (enb), the apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting service performance data of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) cell provided by the eNB to a Network Management (NM) device;

means for receiving instructions from the NM device to adjust service parameters of the E-UTRAN cell based on the service performance data; and

means for adjusting the service parameter of the E-UTRAN cell, wherein the service parameter is at least one of a size of a coverage area of the E-UTRAN cell or a capacity of the E-UTRAN cell.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein to adjust the service parameter of the E-UTRAN cell, the apparatus comprises:

means for adjusting one or more antennas of the eNB; or

Means for controlling power output to the one or more antennas.

45. The device of claim 43, wherein the service performance data comprises one or more of a number of active User Equipments (UEs) in a given area, an Internet Protocol (IP) throughput, an upload or download Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage, a packet delay, a dropped rate, a lost rate, environmental information, a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement, or a Radio Resource Control (RRC) failure event.

46. The apparatus of any of claims 43-45, wherein the instruction is a first instruction, and wherein the apparatus comprises:

means for receiving a second instruction from the NM apparatus to initiate execution of one or more Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs);

means for transmitting, to one or more UEs, third instructions to initiate one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures in accordance with the one or more MDTs;

means for receiving, from the one or more UEs, MDT results based on the one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures; and

means for transferring said MDT result to said NM device, an

47. The apparatus of any of claims 43-45, wherein the instruction is a first instruction, and wherein the apparatus comprises:

means for initiating one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures in accordance with the one or more MDTs;

means for determining an MDT result based on the one or more measurement collection procedures or one or more data logging procedures; and

means for transferring said MDT result to said NM device, an