CELLULAR NETWORK, BASE STATION AND METHOD FOR SELF-OPTIMIZING TRANSMIT POWER TO USER EQUIPMENTS
A base station and a method are described herein for self-optimizing the transmit power to user equipments (UEs) within a cell of a cellular network. In addition, a cellular network is described herein that includes multiple base stations (e.g., base transmitter stations, eNodeBs) each of which is configured to self-optimize the transmit power to the UEs within their respective cell.
1 . A base station for self-optimizing a transmit power to a plurality of user equipments, UEs, within a cell of a cellular network, the base station comprising:
a power amplifier;
a processor; and
a non-transitory memory that stores processor-executable instructions wherein the processor interfaces with the non-transitory memory and executes the processor-executable instructions to:
determine a system load as a function of a service cell load and at least one neighbor cell load, where the service cell load is a load within the cell and the at least one neighbor cell load is a load within at least one neighboring cell which is adjacent to the cell;
compare the system load to a predetermined system load threshold;
if the system load is greater than the predetermined system load threshold, then reduce a transmit power of the power amplifier to a minimum value;
if the system load is less than the predetermined system load threshold, then determine a percentage of the plurality of UEs within the cell that are considered cell edge users;
compare the percentage of the cell edge users to a predetermined cell edge user threshold;
if the percentage of the cell edge users is less than the predetermined cell edge user threshold, then increase the transmit power of the power amplifier; and
if the percentage of the cell edge users is greater than the predetermined cell edge user threshold, then maintain the transmit power of the power amplifier.
2 . The base station of claim 1 , wherein the processor further executes the processor-executable instructions to determine the service cell load as a function of at least one of the following:
total interference level in the cell;
total power utilization of the power amplifier;
traffic channel utilization;
total number of simultaneous connections to the UEs; and
other base station hardware or software resources.
3 . The base station of claim 1 , wherein the processor further executes the processor-executable instructions to determine the at least one neighbor cell load by receiving the at least one neighbor cell load from at least one neighboring base station.
4 . The base station of claim 1 , wherein the processor further executes the processor-executable instructions to determine the at least one neighbor cell load by receiving the at least one neighbor cell load from a base station controller.
5 . A method implemented by a base station for self-optimizing a transmit power to a plurality of user equipments, UEs, within a cell of a cellular network, the method comprises the steps of:
determining a system load as a function of a service cell load and at least one neighbor cell load, where the service cell load is a load within the cell and the at least one neighbor cell load is a load within at least one neighboring cell which is adjacent to the cell;
comparing the system load to a predetermined system load threshold;
if the system load is greater than the predetermined system load threshold, then reducing the transmit power to a minimum value;
if the system load is less than the predetermined system load threshold, then determining a percentage of the plurality of UEs within the cell that are considered cell edge users;
comparing the percentage of the cell edge users to a predetermined cell edge user threshold;
if the percentage of the cell edge users is less than the predetermined cell edge user threshold, then increasing the transmit power; and
if the percentage of the cell edge users is greater than the predetermined cell edge user threshold, then maintaining the transmit power.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the service cell load is determined as a function of at least one of the following:
total interference level in the cell;
total power utilization of the power amplifier;
traffic channel utilization;
total number of simultaneous connections to the UEs; and
other base station hardware or software resources.
7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of determining the at least one neighbor cell load includes receiving the at least one neighbor cell load from at least one neighboring base station.
8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of determining the at least one neighbor cell load includes receiving the at least one neighboring cell load from a base station controller.
9 . A cellular network comprising:
a plurality of base stations, each base station is associated with a cell and adapted to self-optimize a transmit power to a plurality of user equipments, UEs, within the associated cell by:
determining a system load as a function of a service cell load and at least one neighbor cell load, where the service cell load is a load within the cell and the at least on neighbor cell load is a load within at least one neighboring cell which is adjacent to the cell;
comparing the system load to a predetermined system load threshold;
if the system load is greater than the predetermined system load threshold, then reducing the transmit power to a minimum value;
if the system load is less than the predetermined system load threshold, then determining a percentage of the plurality of UEs within the cell that are considered cell edge users;
comparing the percentage of the cell edge users to a predetermined cell edge user threshold;
if the percentage of the cell edge users is less than the predetermined cell edge user threshold, then increasing the transmit power; and
if the percentage of the cell edge users is greater than the predetermined cell edge user threshold, then maintaining the transmit power.
10 . The cellular network of claim 9 , wherein each base station determines the service cell load as a function of at least one of the following:
total interference level in the cell;
total power utilization of the power amplifier;
traffic channel utilization;
total number of simultaneous connections to the UEs; and
other base station hardware or software resources.
11 . The cellular network of claim 9 , wherein each base station determines the at least one neighbor cell load by receiving the at least one neighbor cell load from at least one neighboring base station.
12 . The cellular network of claim 9 , wherein each base station determines the at least one neighbor cell load by receiving the at least one neighbor cell load from a base station controller.
13 . The cellular network of claim 9 , wherein each base station is a base transmitter station.
14 . The cellular network of claim 9 , wherein each base station is an eNodeB.
15 . The cellular network of claim 9 , wherein the cellular network is an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing, OFDM, cellular network.
16 . The cellular network of claim 9 , where the cellular network implements an adaptive modulation and coding scheme.