Systems and methods for network based geographic anchor selection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12323818-B2
Application number	US-202217713451-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 5, 2022
Priority date	Apr 5, 2022
Publication date	Jun 3, 2025
Grant date	Jun 3, 2025

Abstract

A method may include identifying, in a network, a location of a Fifth Generation (5G) node and determining, based on the location of the 5G node and capabilities associated with the 5G node, a number of areas around the 5G node, wherein each area corresponds to a bin. The method may also include identifying, in at least some of the of bins, candidate anchor nodes for the 5G node and ranking the candidate anchor nodes based on parameters associated with the candidate anchor nodes. The method may further include selecting, for the 5G node, an anchor node from the candidate anchor nodes based on the ranking.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
identifying, in a network, a location of a Fifth Generation (5G) node;
determining, based on the location of the 5G node and capabilities associated with the 5G node, a plurality of areas around the 5G node, each area corresponding to a bin of a plurality of bins;
identifying, in at least some of the plurality of bins, candidate anchor nodes for the 5G node;
ranking the candidate anchor nodes based on parameters associated with the candidate anchor nodes, wherein the parameters include a first parameter corresponding to a total number of communications handled by each candidate anchor node over a period of time and a second parameter corresponding to an average signal strength associated with the communications handled by each candidate anchor node over the period of time; and
selecting, for the 5G node, an anchor node from the candidate anchor nodes based on the ranking.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining the number of communications handled by each candidate anchor node over the period of time.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
determining the average signal strength associated with the number of communications handled by each candidate anchor node.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, for each of the candidate anchor nodes, a distance to the 5G node, and wherein the ranking further comprises:
ranking each candidate anchor nodes based on the distance to the 5G node.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ranking the candidate anchor nodes further comprises:
assigning a preference to a first candidate anchor node collocated with the 5G node.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the candidate anchor nodes comprise Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) nodes.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
filtering candidate anchor nodes based on a physical cell identifier (PCI) conflict in the network.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining an average distance for a first plurality of candidate anchor nodes to the 5G node;
applying a multiplier to the average distance to generate a predetermined distance; and
eliminating at least a first one of the candidate anchor nodes from consideration as the anchor node in response to determining that the distance from the first candidate anchor node to the 5G node is greater than the predetermined distance.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
assigning, the selected anchor node to the 5G node.

10. A device, comprising:
at least one processor configured to:
identify, in a network, a location of a Fifth Generation (5G) node;
determine, based on the location of the 5G node and capabilities associated with the 5G node, a plurality of areas around the 5G node, each area corresponding to a bin of a plurality of bins;
identify, in at least some of the plurality of bins, candidate anchor nodes for the 5G node;
rank the candidate anchor nodes based on parameters associated with the candidate anchor nodes, wherein the parameters include a first parameter corresponding to a total number of communications handled by each candidate anchor node over a period of time and a second parameter corresponding to an average signal strength associated with the communications handled by each candidate anchor node over the period of time; and
select, for the 5G node, an anchor node from the candidate anchor nodes based on the ranking.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
determine the number of communications handled by each candidate anchor node over the period of time.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
determine the average signal strength associated with the number of communications handled by each candidate anchor node.

13. The device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
determine, for each of the candidate anchor nodes, a distance to the 5G node, and wherein the ranking further comprises:
ranking each candidate anchor nodes based on the distance to the 5G node.

14. The device of claim 10 , wherein when ranking the candidate anchor nodes, the at least one processor is further configured to:
assign a preference to a first candidate anchor node collocated with the 5G node.

15. The device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
filter candidate anchor nodes based on at least one of a physical cell identifier (PCI) conflict in the network or a frequency band supported by the candidate anchor node.

16. The device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
assign the selected anchor node to the 5G node.

17. The device of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
at least one of send a message identifying the selected anchor node to the 5G node or send a message identifying the selected anchor node to personnel associated with the network.

18. The device of claim 10 , wherein the candidate anchor nodes comprise Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) nodes.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
identify, in a network, a location of a Fifth Generation (5G) node;
determine, based on the location of the 5G node and capabilities associated with the 5G node, a plurality of areas around the 5G node, each area corresponding to a bin of a plurality of bins;
identify, in at least some of the plurality of bins, candidate anchor nodes for the 5G node;
rank the candidate anchor nodes based on parameters associated with the candidate anchor nodes, wherein the parameters include a first parameter corresponding to a total number of communications handled by each candidate anchor node over a period of time and a second parameter corresponding to an average signal strength associated with the communications handled by each candidate anchor node over the period of time; and
select, for the 5G node, an anchor node from the candidate anchor nodes based on the ranking.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein when ranking the candidate anchor nodes, the instructions cause the processor to:
rank the candidate anchor nodes based on an average signal quality associated with the number of communications or a distance to the 5G node.

Assignees

• Verizon Patent & Licensing Inc

Inventors

• Schaafsma Sasha Faye
• Robeck Charles Aaron
• Coyle Timothy E
• Atkins Brandon Scott
• Wozich Zachary S

Classifications

• H04W64/003

  locating network equipment · CPC title

• H04W76/16

  Involving different core network technologies, e.g. a packet-switched [PS] bearer in combination with a circuit-switched [CS] bearer · CPC title

• H04W16/18 Primary

  Network planning tools · CPC title

• H04W24/02 Primary

  Arrangements for optimising operational condition · CPC title