Patent Application
20160088522
The present disclosure relates generally to a method performed by an apparatus of a base station in a wireless communication system for controlling communication resources to a plurality of antenna sites of the base station. The disclosure further relates to a corresponding apparatus operable in a base station, a computer program and a computer program product.
In wireless communication systems, it has been estimated that 80% of the radio traffic takes place inside of buildings, such as offices, hotels, conference centers, shopping malls, hospitals, universities etc. There is a very high demand from both operators and end users to increase both the coverage and the capacity indoors. Due to the high penetration loss of the walls and floors of the buildings, it is difficult to offer a good coverage and high capacity inside the buildings relying on the radio signals from outside the buildings, i.e. from the outdoor base stations. Specialized radio systems deployed inside the buildings are needed to fit the indoor environments.
In the following are some basic requirements for indoor system deployment: The indoor antennas need to have low output power due to regulations and health concerns. This requires that the antenna output power is as low as 10-20 dBm. The indoor antennas are densely deployed to achieve high Signal to Noise Ratio, SNR, and thus provide high bit rates to users. The complicated indoor propagation environment, i.e. rather high path loss due to shadowing effects from interior walls, also motivates the dense deployment for a good coverage. The typical distance between antennas is as short as 10-20 meters.
Indoor traffic is characterized by uneven traffic distribution in space. This creates traffic hotspots in local areas, e.g. conference rooms, cafeterias, lobbies etc., i.e. where many users are gathering together. Traffic density of such a hotspot is very high while traffic density of another area is rather low at the same time. Furthermore, the hotspot locations change over time. For example, traffic is more concentrated in the cafeterias during meal time while it is more concentrated in conference rooms during meeting time. However, the overall traffic density in the whole area is much lower than the peak density in the hotspots.
One way to increase the capacity is cell split by reducing the cell size to allow more spatial reuse in the area. Furthermore, advanced radio technologies like coordinated multi-point, CoMP, and multi-user Multiple Input Multiple Output, MU-MIMO, have emerged to further increase network capacity. With the new technologies, signals from/to different antennas can be jointly processed and thereby interference can be cancelled or mitigated. This allows more simultaneous data flows from/to different users in one area without much interference. In a local area with many antennas and many users, asymptotically, the network capacity is proportional to the number of the jointly processed signals from/to different antennas.
The signals (both jointly processed and separately processed) are processed by a digital unit, DU, also called a baseband processing unit, BBU, which is often referred to as a part of a base transceiver station, BTS, also called base station. The baseband processing resources in the BBU required are basically proportional to the number of the baseband signals, also called IQ data flows, for processing. The transport of signals between antennas and the BBU is usually referred to as front haul. At the antenna, the signals are radio frequency, RF, signals in analog form. At the BBU, the signals can be RF/intermediate frequency, IF, signals in analog form or baseband/IF signals in digital form, e.g. Common Public Radio Interface, CPRI, for baseband signals. CPRI is a front haul protocol which is capable of encapsulating multiple baseband IQ data flows to one CPRI signal. So the required front haul capacity, e.g. the required bit rate for one CPRI link and the number of CPRI links available, is also proportional to the number of signals transported. The total network capacity can be maximized when full baseband processing capacity and full front haul capacity for all antennas are provided. For a dense deployment with many antennas, this approach over-provides the capacity to the whole area. In practice, the required high costs for such over-capacity prohibits such a full capacity approach.
Consequently, a more cost-effective solution of providing communication resources from a BBU to antennas connected to the BBU is needed. Further, such a solution at the same time needs to be able to provide good communication capacity to the antennas.
It is an object of the invention to address at least some of the problems and issues outlined above. It is possible to achieve these objects and others by using a method and an apparatus as defined in the attached independent claims.
According to one aspect, a method is provided performed by an apparatus of a base station in a wireless communication system for controlling communication resources to a plurality of antenna sites of the base station, the base station providing communication resources as a number of antenna carriers providing IQ data flows to the plurality of antenna sites. The method comprises estimating traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites and distributing the number of antenna carriers to the plurality of antenna sites based on the estimated traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites.
According to another aspect, an apparatus is provided operable in a base station in a wireless communication system, configured for controlling communication resources to a plurality of antenna sites of the base station, the base station having a baseband unit configured for providing communication resources as a number of antenna carriers providing IQ data flows to the plurality of antenna sites. The apparatus comprises an estimation unit for estimating traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites and a distribution unit for distributing the number of antenna carriers to the plurality of antenna sites based on the estimated traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites.
According to a third aspect, a computer program is provided comprising computer readable code means, which when run in an apparatus of a base station causes the apparatus to perform a number of steps. The base station comprises a plurality of antenna sites and a baseband unit providing communication resources as a number of antenna carriers providing IQ data flows to the plurality of antenna sites. The computer program causes the apparatus to perform the following steps: estimating traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites, and distributing the number of antenna carriers to the plurality of antenna sites based on the estimated traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites.
The above method and apparatus may be configured and implemented according to different optional embodiments. Further possible features and benefits of this solution will become apparent from the detailed description below.
The solution will now be described in more detail by means of exemplary embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Briefly described, a solution is provided to efficiently use communication resources provided by a baseband unit, BBU, of a base station to antenna sites of the base station, the communication resources being called antenna carriers providing IQ data flows for the communication between the baseband unit and the antenna sites. By estimating traffic load on the antenna sites and distributing the antenna carries to the antenna sites based on the estimated traffic load, the antenna carries can be concentrated at the antenna sites where there is lots of traffic for the moment, i.e. at traffic hot spot antenna sites. As a result, by using such a dynamic distribution of antenna carriers depending on the traffic load, the antenna carrier communication resources can be more efficiently used in the communication network.
Thereby, the antenna carriers may be flexibly and/or dynamically distributed between the antenna sites depending on the current traffic load on the antenna sites. For example, the antenna carriers may be concentrated at current hot spots, i.e. in an area covered by an antenna site where there is high traffic load for the moment. As a result, the antenna carriers will be utilized efficiently, and, consequently, cost-effective, between the antenna sites connected to the base station.
An antenna carrier is a communication resource distributed by the baseband unit to the antenna site. The antenna carrier is a carrier frequency band or carrier over which an IQ data flow may be sent from the baseband unit of the base station to an antenna site of the base station (downlink, DL) or from the antenna site to the baseband unit (uplink, UL). An IQ data flow reflects the data transmitted between the baseband unit and an antenna site. An IQ data flow may be the actual data flow flowing towards the antenna sites when in use. A communication resource, i.e. an antenna carrier, may be a resource which may be distributed differently to the antenna sites depending on the traffic load. The antenna carrier comprises an IQ data flow or data stream when in use. An antenna carrier may be a carrier frequency band, such as 20 MHz. One antenna carrier may be distributed to one or more antenna sites, or two or more antenna carriers may be distributed to the same antenna site.
The steps of estimating traffic load and distributing the number of antenna carriers may mean dynamically estimating current traffic load and dynamically distributing the number of antenna carriers based on the dynamically estimated current traffic load. I.e. the steps of estimating and distributing may be performed repeatedly, during operation of the network, such that distribution of antenna carriers is changed if the traffic load is changed in the network.
Distributing the number of antenna carriers to the plurality of antenna sites based on the estimated traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites may mean mapping an antenna carrier to one or more of the antenna sites based on the estimated current traffic load of the antenna sites. Also, it may be possible that two or more antenna carriers are mapped to one antenna site. Traffic load may mean amount of information going through the antenna site, UL or DL.
An antenna site comprises one or more antennas. One antenna site may provide coverage to one cell, or in the case of cell sectors, to one cell sector. The antenna site may comprise one antenna (or antenna element) or multiple antennas (or antenna elements), the latter for e.g. supporting Multiple Input Multiple Output, MIMO, communication. An antenna site may also be called an Active Antenna Element, AAE.
According to an embodiment, as shown in
According to another embodiment, the traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites 231, 232, 233, 234 is estimated 302 based on received uplink power for the individual of the plurality of antenna sites. The received uplink power is the signal power of signals received over the air interface from UEs communicating with the antenna site. The received uplink power may be averaged over time to get a better traffic load indicator. The received uplink power may be an indication of the uplink traffic load, but also on the downlink traffic load. Such a method may be a good, rather quick and resource efficient way to estimate the traffic load, although it may be a rather coarse estimation.
The antenna carrier that is used for estimating the traffic loads on the antenna sites that had an uplink power above the uplink power threshold in steps 404-406 is mapped to one antenna site at a time, e.g. sequentially mapped. This antenna carrier may be called a measuring antenna carrier. This may be realized by the measuring antenna carrier first being mapped to a first antenna site and the traffic load through the measuring antenna carrier, i.e. through the first antenna site being monitored. Thereafter, the measuring antenna carrier is mapped to a second antenna site and the traffic load through the second antenna site is monitored, etc. Further, more than one antenna carrier may be used as a measuring carrier for one estimation procedure. In that case the measuring carriers are mapped to the plurality of antenna sites to be measured one at a time such that they together cover the antenna sites to be measured.
By only performing this measuring antenna carrier switching and monitoring technique on a limited number of antennas sites, which uplink powers are above an uplink power threshold, the antenna carriers are well utilized during an estimation period and the high traffic loads are found anyhow. The high traffic load antenna sites may also be called hotspot antenna sites, i.e. antenna sites covering a current hotspot area. After high load antenna sites have been determined, the number of antenna carriers may be distributed such that a higher amount of communication resources are made available at the high load antenna sites than at the antenna sites not being high load antenna sites.
According to another embodiment, the traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites 231, 232, 233, 234 is estimated 302 by mapping an antenna carrier to at least some of the plurality of antenna sites, one antenna site at a time, and monitoring the traffic load through the antenna carrier from the at least some of the plurality of antenna sites.
The antenna carrier that is used for estimating the traffic loads on the antenna sites that had an uplink power above the uplink power threshold in steps 404-406 is mapped to one antenna site at a time, e.g. sequentially mapped. This antenna carrier may be called a measuring antenna carrier. This may be realized by the measuring antenna carrier first being mapped to a first antenna site and the traffic load through the measuring antenna carrier, i.e. through the first antenna site being monitored. Thereafter, the measuring antenna carrier is mapped to a second antenna site and the traffic load through the second antenna site is monitored, etc. Further, more than one antenna carrier may be used as a measuring carrier for one estimation procedure. In that case the measuring carriers are mapped to the plurality of antenna sites to be measured one at a time such that they together cover the antenna sites to be measured.
The actual traffic load through an antenna carrier is then monitored or measured, which gives a rather exact measure on the traffic load at each antenna site. However, an antenna carrier used for such a measurement is then occupied with measurements for one antenna site, regardless of the load on that antenna site. If the antenna carrier would not have been occupied by measurements, the antenna carrier could have been used for providing coverage to for example other cells of other antenna sites in more need of coverage. Consequently, a good estimation may be achieved at the expense of network performance during the estimation period.
The embodiment described in
The first threshold may be a hotspot threshold or a high-traffic threshold. Similarly, the second threshold may be a non-hotspot threshold or a low-traffic threshold. For example, the first threshold may be a hotspot threshold and the second threshold may also be a non-hotspot threshold. If the load increases to above the hotspot threshold, the antenna site is determined to be covering a hotspot and communication capacity is increased. If the load decreases to below the non-hotspot threshold, the antenna site is determined to be not be covering a hotspot anymore and communication capacity is decreased. Also, there may be a hysteresis for determining hotspots which means that the first threshold is on a higher level than the second threshold even if they are used for determining hotspots. If no hysteresis is used the first and the second threshold would be on the same level.
Further, it may possible to interpret this embodiment and the previous embodiment such that the traffic load are first estimated on the individual antennas, and then after estimating the traffic load of individual antennas, estimate the high traffic area and low traffic area and then distribute more antenna carriers to high traffic area and fewer antenna carriers to low traffic area.
The steps of comparing and determining may mean dynamically comparing and determining, in other words, repeatedly comparing and determining to detect that the estimated traffic load has changed to above or below the first or the second traffic load threshold. The embodiment of
According to another embodiment, traffic load on a first antenna site of the plurality of antenna sites is estimated 302 by receiving a signal from the first antenna site of the plurality of antenna sites, which signal has been appended an identification which identification indicates that the signal is received from the first antenna site, and determining that the signal originates from the first antenna site based on the identification, and, during a measurement period, determining the traffic load on the first antenna site based on the determination that the signal originates from the first antenna. During a measurement period, the signal or the number of signals that is received from the first antenna site can be analyzed based on the appended identification. This analysis can be used to estimate the traffic load. Performing this method for the individual antenna sites provides a good estimation for traffic load at the individual antenna sites which is a good help when determining the distribution of the antenna carriers to the individual antenna sites.
According to an embodiment, the method is performed by the baseband unit 210. Alternatively, the method may be performed by the IF unit 220.
In
More resources may be assigned to the high load local areas, while fewer resources may be assigned to low load local areas. Inside a building, traffic is unlikely evenly distributed. Traffic may concentrate in certain local areas (i.e. hotspots) like conference rooms, cafeterias, lobby area etc., and traffic hotspots may move from time to time, as people are moving around, e.g. for meetings. Given the fixed baseband capacity of the BBU, dynamically changing the antenna topology based on the local load is beneficial to increase the capacity in local hotspots and to increase the user experiences. This also benefits the operator by pooling the baseband resources in a centralized BBU. The BBU capacity can be gradually upgraded on demand. This can also benefit in energy consumption. For example, it is possible to switch to a tree-topology (a common communication line branching off into individual communication lines to the individual AAEs) to save energy consumption in the IFH and the BBU when the network load is low, e.g. during night. In this case, some overlapped AAEs can be even turned into an idle mode while some other active AAEs may increase their coverage by increasing output power.
According to some embodiments, at least some of the embodiments described in this disclosure may be integrated in the BBU and/or coordinated by the BBU. The BBU may perform one or more of the following: monitor the traffic load, determine the need for the resource reconfiguration, collect the traffic related information from the AAEs to roughly estimate the hotspot locations, instruct the reconfiguration to zoom in to the rough estimated hotspot areas to finely estimate the hotspot locations, and finally instruct resource reconfiguration and apply proper radio techniques to increase capacity.
This disclosure may cover any main-remote setup with a hub unit between the AAEs and the BBU. I.e. the IFH is an example of a hub unit. Other examples of a main-remote implementation is that the AAEs are front hauled by CPRI. The hub unit or units may then act as a CPRI mapper. However, the IF-based implementation as describe above may be seen as the most cost effective solution.
The following focuses on the IF-based implementation. A possible base station system structure 200 for an IF-based implementation is illustrated by an example with 4 AAEs 231-234 and 3 IQ data flows IQ1-1Q3 in
In the BBU 210, different radio schemes can be used to increase capacity according to the AAE locations. In the case where AAE 3-4 are closely located within one hotspot, MU-MIMO may be used to increase the capacity by joint processing of the IQ data flow 2 and 3. In the case where AAE 3-4 are located in two adjacent hotspots, CoMP may be used to increase the capacity also by joint processing. If they are separated in space, the capacity gain is from spatial reuse without the need for interference mitigation schemes. In the IFH 220 of
For a large deployment, multiple IFHs are needed.
A feature of this invention is the capability to dynamically move available baseband resources, i.e. antenna carriers providing IQ data flows, around in the geographical area covered by a plurality of AAEs. The more front haul and baseband resources are applied in one area, the more capacity is moved to the area. Therefore, by moving more capacity, i.e. antenna carriers, to high traffic hotspots, one can increase the number of IQ data flows for the AAEs within the hotspots and assign the corresponding baseband resources/antenna carriers to process the signals. In low traffic load areas, one can reduce the number of IQ data flows for the AAE to collect the resources back to the pool and make more capacity available in the pool for the potential hotspots later on. As shown, the front haul reconfiguration of antenna carrier assignment is done by changing the switching states in IFH and/or BBU (or CPRI hub if a CPRI hub exists, see
To be able to move more capacity to hotspots, the hotspots need to be localized. For a fully resourced system, every AAE is front hauled and the BBU can process the signals from all AAEs. In this case, the BBU can directly monitor the traffic load of each AAE and therefore can determine from which AAE the traffic originates and thereby from which geographical area the traffic originates. However, it is not straightforward for a pooled system where the amount of baseband resources, i.e. antenna carriers, is less than the number of AAEs. One way is to switch antenna carriers through all AAEs in the area. After each switch, the antenna carriers are applied to the AAEs which have not been monitored yet. Then, the BBU monitors the traffic load of the AAEs which are front hauled by the switching. The process continues until all AAEs have been monitored. The monitored traffic information can then determine from where traffic originates. Preferably, only spare resources, i.e. one or a small number of antenna carriers are used for switching, because other resources are used to keep the coverage provided by the base station system. If the pooling factor (the ratio between the amount of AAEs and the amount of the available antenna carriers) is not so large, this process can be fast. For example, if each AAE has 2 antennas and the pooling factor is 2, the system can switch to a state in which only one IQ stream of one AAE is front hauled. After one switching, all AAEs can be monitored simultaneously and thereby traffic is localized quickly. The whole process only takes one switch.
If the pooling factor is large, the switching process could take long time. The switching time can be reduced, if the searching range is reduced by searching only a subset of the AAEs. If an AAE is active, it can possibly monitor some traffic related indicators. These traffic related indicators from AAEs can be used as a rough means to estimate the hotspot locations. One such indicator is the received signal power of the AAEs, which may be averaged over time or in a form of other statistical values. The received signal power of each AAE corresponds to the uplink received power. The uplink received power is an indicator of the uplink traffic load per AAE. The received signal power is higher if the uplink traffic load is higher. It is also an indicator for downlink traffic load. Even if there is only downlink traffic, the uplink would be active, for communicating signaling, i.e. control messages transmitted on the common channels, e.g. for downstream scheduling and rate adaptation purposes, continuously sent from the active UEs to the AAEs in question. So the uplink received power can be used as a general traffic indicator for both downlink and uplink. So with the uplink received power, preferably statistical values of the uplink received power, and the location information per AAE, it is able to roughly determine the area where there are lots of active users.
At the AAE, the received signal power can be measured either on the RF signal before RF/IF conversion or on the IF signal after RF/IF conversion. It is preferable to do it in the IF frequency so that it can support multiple RF bands down-converted to the fixed IF band. Another possible location for measuring the uplink received power is at the receiver of the IFH, i.e. at the part of the IFH receiving signals from the AAEs, e.g. the AFE of
Another alternative for traffic monitoring is to put a “watermark” on the signal from an AAE so that the BBU can determine from which AAE the signal originates. This may be implemented by modulating the signal sent from the AAE to the IF. For instance, slight variations of the receiver local oscillator signal, RX LO, according to a predetermined pattern could introduce a Doppler-shift on the received signal. This pattern can then be recognized by the BBU and used by the BBU to detect from which AAE the signal originates. Similar “watermarking” schemes could be implemented using slight variations of the RX amplitude and/or the phase and/or frequency.
A hotspot area becomes a low traffic area when users (of UEs) leave the hotspot area. Then the configuration in the front haul and baseband resources over-provides communication capacity to the area. It is then a need to reduce the front haul and baseband resources in this area and collect the resources back to the pool for later use. This would also be beneficial for energy efficiency. The hardware and software related to the spare front haul and baseband resources can be set to idle modes to save energy. For dense deployments, the overlapped AAEs can also be set to idle mode to further save energy.
According to another embodiment, it may be possible to distribute the antenna carriers differently in uplink than in downlink.
According to an embodiment described in
The apparatus 1000 may further comprise a communication unit 1010, which may be considered to comprise conventional means for communication from and/or to other nodes of the network. The apparatus 1000 may further comprise one or more storage units or memories 1012.
According to another embodiment, the estimation unit 1002 is arranged to estimate the traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites 231, 232, 233, 234 based on received uplink power for the individual of the plurality of antenna sites.
According to another embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a comparing unit 1006 for comparing the received uplink power for individual of the plurality of antenna sites to an uplink power threshold. For the antenna sites for which the received uplink power is above the uplink power threshold, the estimation unit 1002 is further arranged for estimating the traffic load by mapping an antenna carrier to at least some of the plurality of antenna sites, one antenna site at a time, and monitoring the traffic load through the antenna carrier, and the comparing unit 1006 is further arranged for comparing the estimated traffic load on the antenna sites to a high traffic load threshold to determine high traffic load antenna sites.
According to yet another embodiment, the estimation unit 1002 is arranged for estimating the traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites 231, 232, 233, 234 by mapping an antenna carrier to at least some of the plurality of antenna sites, one antenna site at a time, and monitoring the traffic load through the antenna carrier from the at least some of the plurality of antenna sites.
According to yet another embodiment, the apparatus further comprises: a comparing unit 1006 for comparing the estimated traffic load on a first antenna site of the plurality of antenna sites to a first traffic load threshold, and a determining unit 1008 for determining to distribute the number of antenna carriers to the plurality of antenna sites such that communication capacity is increased at the first antenna site if the comparison shows that the estimated traffic load on the first antenna site has changed to above the first traffic load threshold.
According to yet another embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a comparing unit 1006 for comparing the estimated traffic load on a first antenna site of the plurality of antenna sites to a second traffic load threshold, and a determining unit 1008 for determining to distribute the number of antenna carriers to the plurality of antenna sites such that communication capacity is decreased at the first antenna site when the comparison shows that the estimated traffic load on the first antenna site has changed to below the second traffic load threshold.
According to yet another embodiment, the estimation unit 1002 is further arranged to estimate traffic load on a first antenna site of the plurality of antenna sites by receiving a signal from the first antenna site of the plurality of antenna sites, which signal has been appended an identification indicating that the signal is received from the first antenna site, and determining that the signal originates from the first antenna site based on the identification, and, during a measurement period, determining the traffic load on the first antenna site based on the determination that the signal originates from the first antenna site.
According to another embodiment, the apparatus 1000 is arranged in the baseband unit 210. As described, the base station further comprises an intermediate frequency unit, IF unit, 220. The apparatus with its units may be arranged either in the IF unit 220 or in the BBU 210, or the units of the apparatus 1000 may be distributed between the IF unit 220 and the BBU 210. Alternatively, the apparatus may be arranged in a separate control unit outside the BBU and the IF unit.
The estimation unit 1002, the distribution unit 1004, the comparing unit 1006 and the determining unit 1008 may be arranged in an arrangement 1001. The arrangement 1001 could be implemented e.g. by one or more of: a processor or a micro processor and adequate software and storage therefore, a Programmable Logic Device, PLD, or other electronic component(s)/processing circuit(s) configured to perform the actions, or methods, mentioned above.
Furthermore, the arrangement 1200 comprises at least one computer program product 1208 in the form of a non-volatile or volatile memory, e.g. an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, a disk drive or a Random-access memory (RAM). The computer program product 1208 comprises a computer program 1210, which comprises code means, which when executed in the processing unit 1206 in the arrangement 1200 causes the arrangement 1001 and/or the apparatus 1000 to perform the actions of any of the procedures described earlier in conjunction with
The computer program 1210 may be configured as a computer program code structured in computer program modules. Hence, in an exemplifying embodiment, the code means in the computer program 1210 of the arrangement 1200 comprises an estimation module 1210a for estimating traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites 231, 232, 233, 234, and a distribution module for distributing the number of antenna carriers to the plurality of antenna sites based on the estimated traffic load on individual of the plurality of antenna sites.
The acts which have above been described as being implemented or executed by a processor may be performed by any suitable machine. The machine may take the form of electronic circuitry in the form of a computer implementation platform or a hardware circuit platform. A computer implementation of the machine platform may be realized by or implemented as one or more computer processors or controllers as those terms are herein expansively defined, and which may execute instructions stored on non-transient computer-readable storage media. In such a computer implementation the machine platform may comprise, in addition to a processor(s), a memory section, which in turn can comprise random access memory; read only memory; an application memory, a non-transitory computer readable medium which stores, e.g., coded non instructions which can be executed by the processor to perform acts described herein; and any other memory such as cache memory, for example. Another example platform suitable is that of a hardware circuit, e.g., an application specific integrated circuit, ASIC, wherein circuit elements are structured and operated to perform the various acts described herein.
One or more of the embodiments described above have one or more of the following advantages: Provides a cost-effective flexible cell solution providing high capacity for hotspots. Especially advantageous in an indoor system. Baseband resources can be pooled. Capacity in a base station system may be moved dynamically between AAEs, depending on current traffic load on the AAEs. Makes it possible to save energy by setting baseband resources in idle mode.
Although the description above contains a plurality of specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the concept described herein but as merely providing illustrations of some exemplifying embodiments of the described concept. It will be appreciated that the scope of the presently described concept fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the presently described concept is accordingly not to be limited. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed hereby. Moreover, it is not necessary for an apparatus or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the presently described concept, for it to be encompassed hereby.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2013/062628 | 6/18/2013 | WO | 00 |
