Load balancing in wireless networks for improved user equipment throughput

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11523316-B2
Application number	US-202117330001-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 25, 2021
Priority date	Jun 14, 2017
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

Distribution of traffic to cells in a communication network can be controlled. A distribution management component (DMC) can determine overall device traffic throughput for cells of a sector that satisfy a defined traffic throughput criterion relating to a harmonic mean of the device traffic throughput for the cells to desirably enhance or maximize the harmonic mean of the overall device traffic throughput. Based on the overall device traffic throughput for the cells, the DMC can determine whether to adjust a characteristic associated with a cell of the cells to facilitate adjusting distribution of device traffic among the cells of the sector to achieve desirable load balancing of traffic by the sector and in the network. Load balancing can be achieved by controlling respective parameters with regard to communication devices that are in idle mode or connected mode to facilitate directing communication devices and associated traffic to desired cells.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
determining, by a system comprising a processor, overall throughput device traffic data representative of an overall device traffic throughput, for cells associated with a coverage area facilitated by a base station, that satisfies a defined traffic throughput criterion, wherein the defined traffic throughput criterion is satisfied based on a harmonic mean of the overall device traffic throughput being determined to satisfy a function of a defined threshold value relating to the harmonic mean; and
controlling, by the system, a group of parameters associated with a cell of the cells, based on the overall device traffic throughput data and based on an operational mode associated with a device, to facilitate controlling a distribution of device traffic among the cells.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining, by the system, the defined threshold value based on a maximization of the harmonic mean of the overall device traffic throughput.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell is a first cell, wherein the cells comprise the first cell and a second cell, wherein the device is a first device associated with the first cell, wherein the operational mode is an idle mode, wherein the group of parameters associated with the cell comprises a first subgroup of parameters and a second subgroup of parameters, and wherein the controlling of the group of parameters further comprises:
to facilitate the controlling of the distribution of the device traffic among the cells:
based on the first device being determined to be in the idle mode, controlling the first subgroup of parameters to facilitate causing the first device to reselect from having a first connection with the first cell to having a second connection with the second cell; or
based on the second device being determined to be in a connected mode, controlling the second subgroup of parameters to facilitate steering the second device from connecting to the first cell to having the second device connect to the second cell.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell is a first cell, wherein the cells comprise the first cell, and at least one of a second cell or a third cell, wherein the device is a first device, wherein the operational mode associated with the first device is an idle mode, wherein a second device is determined to be in the idle mode, and wherein the method further comprises:
based on the determining of the overall device traffic throughput data representative of the overall device traffic throughput that satisfies the defined traffic throughput criterion, determining, by the system, that a portion of the device traffic is to be directed away from the first cell and to the second cell to facilitate the controlling of the distribution of the device traffic among the cells, wherein the controlling of the group of parameters comprises:
based on the determining that the portion of the device traffic is to be directed away from the first cell and to the second cell and based on the first device and the second device being determined to be in the idle mode:
controlling the group of parameters associated with the first cell to facilitate causing the first device to reselect from having a first connection with the first cell to having a second connection with the second cell, or
controlling the group of parameters associated with the first cell to facilitate having the second device reselect from having a third connection with the third cell to having a fourth connection with the second cell over a fifth connection with the first cell.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the group of parameters comprise a quality offset parameter and a hysteresis parameter, wherein the cells comprise the first cell and the second cell, and wherein the method further comprises:
determining, by the system, that the first cell has a same priority level as the second cell, wherein the controlling of the group of parameters comprises:
based on the first cell being determined to have the same priority level as the second cell, determining that the quality offset parameter or the hysteresis parameter is to be adjusted to facilitate causing the first device to reselect from having the first connection with the first cell to having the second connection with the second cell; and
adjusting the quality offset parameter or the hysteresis parameter.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the cells comprise the first cell and the second cell, wherein the group of parameters is a first group of parameters comprising a first defined threshold value relating to a first signal quality associated with the first cell, wherein a second group of parameters associated with the second cell comprises a second defined threshold value and a third defined threshold value relating to a second signal quality associated with the second cell, wherein the second defined threshold value is higher than the third defined threshold value, and wherein the method further comprises:
determining, by the system, that the first cell has a different priority level than the second cell, wherein, based on the first cell being determined to have the different priority level than the second cell, the controlling of the group of parameters comprises:
determining that the first defined threshold value associated with the first cell is to be adjusted to facilitate causing the first device to reselect from having the first connection with the first cell to having the second connection with the second cell, and
adjusting the first defined threshold value; or
determining that the second defined threshold value or the third defined threshold value associated with the second cell is to be adjusted to facilitate causing the first device to reselect from having the first connection with the first cell to having the second connection with the second cell, and
adjusting the second defined threshold value or the third defined threshold value.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell is a first cell, wherein the cells comprise the first cell, a second cell, or a third cell, wherein the device is a first device, wherein the operational mode associated with the first device is a connected mode, wherein a second device is determined to be in the connected mode, and wherein the method further comprises:
based on the determining of the overall device traffic throughput data representative of the overall device traffic throughput that satisfies the defined traffic throughput criterion, determining, by the system, that a portion of the device traffic is to be directed away from the first cell and to the second cell to facilitate the controlling of the distribution of the device traffic among the cells, wherein the controlling of the group of parameters comprises:
based on the determining that the portion of the device traffic is to be directed away from the first cell and to the second cell and based on the first device and the second device being determined to be in the connected mode:
controlling the group of parameters associated with the first cell to facilitate steering the first device away from having a first connection with the first cell and towards having a second connection with the second cell, or
with regard to the second device that is discontinuing a third connection with the third cell, controlling the group of parameters associated with the first cell to facilitate steering the second device towards having a fourth connection with the second cell over a fifth connection with the first cell.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the group of parameters comprise a first defined threshold value relating to signal quality associated with the first cell, a second defined threshold value relating to the

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp

Inventors

• Wang Huahui
• Cho Tae Won
• Meempat Gopalakrishnan
• Kafka Henry
• Raina Ravi
• Wang Xiaoyu
• Bigler Laurie

Classifications

• H04W24/08

  Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic · CPC title

• H04W28/0247

  based on conditions of the access network or the infrastructure network (central resource management H04W28/16) · CPC title

• H04W28/0205

  at the air interface (dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12) · CPC title

• H04L43/16

  Threshold monitoring · CPC title

• H04W88/08

  Access point devices · CPC title