1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to communication networks including as plurality of small cells. More particularly, the invention relates to the management of small cell communication and call control in a Heterogeneous Network (HETNET).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless communications. The standard was developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The original standard is referred to as Release 8 and a follow-on with minor enhancements is referred to as Release 9. An aspect of Release 8 was the introduction of Circuit Switch Fallback (CSFB). CSFB provides for voice and messaging delivery to LTE devices, such as mobile phones, for example, through a circuit-switched network, such as GSM, for example. CSFB is used in circuit-switched operations that arrive over LTE networks, which are packet-based. That is, CSFB is useful in HETNETs. The fallback is to enable signal exchange where older 20 or 30 functionality exist for a mobile device. The enhanced version of CSFB (eCSFB) established in Release 9 resolved some undesirable aspects of Release 8 CSFB including, fur example, latency problems.
An example existing HETNET with eCSFB is shown in
3GPP Release 9 eCSFB
There may be some challenges associated with facilitating eCSFB in LTE HETNETs incorporating small cells, often referred to as femto cells, as fellows.
Destination 1×FAP Identification Issue
What is needed is an Improved way to enable eCSFB in HETNETs.
The present invention provides an improved way to enable eCSFB in HETNETs by, among other things, co-locating the 1×IWS functionality with LTE eNB. It also tunnels 1×RTT over LTE messages directly to the Convergence Server over SIP. Further, it enables distributed PN-FAP identification determination. These and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon review of the following detailed description, accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
Generally described, the present disclosure relates to communication networks including a plurality of small cells. Specifically, aspects of the present disclosure relate to the management of small cell communication and call control.
With reference to
The MME maintains multiple 1×CS IWS tunnels, which:
For the FSM/EMS assisted inter-RAT NRT option, with respect to
Automated NRT discovery based on UE tracking can be described as:
Using 1×FAP based measurements can be described as:
Using UE Identification can be described as follows:
Using Multiple Target Preparation and NRT Optimization can he described as follows in view of
Mitigation of 1×FAP Confusion based on Multiple Target Preparation
While illustrative embodiments have been disclosed and discussed, one skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that additional or alternative embodiments may be implemented within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, although many embodiments have been indicated as illustrative. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the illustrative embodiments do not need to be combined or implemented together. As such, some illustrative embodiments do not need to be utilized or implemented in accordance with the scope of variations to the present disclosure.
Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the coo as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements or steps are in raw way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. Moreover, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally in to convey utilization of the conjunction “or” in enumerating a list of elements does not limit the selection of only a single element and can include the combination of two or more elements.
Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagrams described herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should be understood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in tic process, Alternate implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments described herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. It will further be appreciated that the data and/or components described above may he stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory of the computing device using a drive mechanism associated with a computer-readable medium storing the computer executable components, such as a CD-ROM DVD-ROM, or network interface. Further, the component and/or data can he included in a single device or distributed in any manner. Accordingly, general purpose computing devices may be configured to implement the processes, algorithms, and methodology of the present disclosure with the processing and/or execution of the various data and/or components described above. Alternatively, some or all of the methods described herein may alternatively be embodied in specialized computer hardware In addition, the components referred to herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof.
It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2014/001989 | 6/5/2014 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61831533 | Jun 2013 | US |