Controlling uplink congestion in a wireless communication network

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

a congestion detection module configured to be operated by the processor to detect (i) congestion in uplink traffic from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) to a base station (BS), and (ii) a level of the congestion in the uplink traffic from the plurality of UEs to the BS;

a congestion control module configured to be operated by the processor to modify, based at least in part on the detected level of congestion exceeding a first threshold, a network or UE setting to generate a modified setting, wherein the network or UE setting is a first wireless communication standard used by a first UE of the plurality of UEs to communicate with the BS, wherein the first wireless communication standard has a first signaling overhead, wherein modifying the network or UE setting comprises:

based at least in part on the detected level of congestion exceeding the first threshold, selecting a second wireless communication standard having a second signaling overhead such that the second signaling overhead is less than the first signaling overhead, and

modifying the network or UE setting to change the wireless communication standard used by the first UE to communicate with the BS to the selected second wireless communication standard to achieve reduced signaling overhead associated with the uplink traffic; and

a transmission module configured to be operated by the processor to transmit the modified setting to the first UE, to facilitate the first UE to transmit to the BS in accordance with the modified setting to achieve reduced signaling overhead associated with the uplink traffic.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the network or UE setting is a first network or UE setting and the modified setting is a first modified setting, and:

the congestion control module is configured to be operated by the processor to modify, based at least in part on the detected level of congestion exceeding a second threshold, a second network or UE setting to generate a second modified setting; and

the transmission module is configured to be operated by the processor to transmit the second modified setting to the first UE, to facilitate the first UE to transmit to the BS in accordance with the second modified setting.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second network or UE setting comprises a bit rate at which the first UE transmits to the BS, and wherein modifying the second network or UE setting comprises:

modifying the second network or UE setting to decrease the bit rate at which the first UE transmits to the BS.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second network or UE setting comprises a transmission time interval with which the first UE transmits to the BS, and wherein modifying the second network or UE setting comprises:

modifying the second network or UE setting to decrease the transmission time interval with which the first UE transmits to the BS.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second network or UE setting comprises a maximum power with which the first UE transmits to the BS, and wherein modifying the second network or UE setting comprises:

modifying the second network or UE setting to decrease the maximum power with which the first UE transmits to the BS.

6. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second network or UE setting comprises a timer based at least in part on which the first UE enters a sleep mode, and wherein modifying the second network or UE setting comprises:

modifying the second network or UE setting to increase a value of the timer.

7. The system of claim 2 , wherein the BS is a first BS, and wherein modifying the second network or UE setting comprises:

modifying the second network or UE setting to handover the first UE to a second BS that is neighboring the first BS.

8. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second network or UE setting comprises a frequency of a carrier used for communicating between the BS and the first UE, and wherein modifying the second network or UE setting comprises:

modifying the second network or UE setting to decrease the frequency of the carrier used for communicating between the BS and the first UE.

9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

an application detection module configured to be operated by the processor to detect an application run by the first UE,

wherein modifying the network or UE setting further comprises modifying the network or UE setting associated with the first UE, based on detecting the application run by the first UE.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

said detecting further comprises detecting the congestion and the level of the congestion for at least a threshold period of time; and

said modifying the network or UE setting further comprises modifying the network or UE setting, based at least in part on an average level of congestion during the threshold period of time exceeding the first threshold.

11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a module configured to be operated by the processor to reset, subsequent to the first UE transmitting to the BS in accordance with the modified setting, a communication carrier used by the first UE to communicate with the BS.

12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a module configured to be operated by the processor to dynamically adjust the first threshold.

13. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a congestion prediction module configured to be operated by the processor to predict congestion in the uplink traffic from the plurality of UEs to the BS; wherein:

the congestion control module configured to be operated by the processor to modify, based at least in part on predicting the congestion, another network or UE setting to generate another modified setting; and

the transmission module configured to be operated by the processor to transmit the another modified setting to the first UE of the plurality of UEs, to facilitate the first UE to transmit to the BS in accordance with the another modified setting.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein modifying the network or UE setting to generate the modified setting further comprises modifying the network or UE setting from a first value to a second value, and wherein:

the congestion detection module is configured to be operated by the processor to detect, subsequent to transmitting the modified setting to the first UE, a reduction in the congestion in the uplink traffic from the plurality of UEs to the BS; and

the congestion control module configured to be operated by the processor to modify, based at least in part on detecting the reduction in the congestion in the uplink traffic, the network or UE setting to the first value.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein detecting the congestion in uplink traffic and the level of the congestion in the uplink traffic is based at least in part on detecting one or more of (i) a number of failed telephone calls from and/or to the plurality of UEs, (ii) a noise level in the uplink traffic, (iii) a rise in the noise level in the uplink traffic, (iv) a number of signaling events in the BS, and (v) an amount of data processing resource used by the BS for processing the uplink traffic.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

a transmission module configured to be operated by the processor to transmit, to the plurality of the UEs, the detected level of the congestion in the uplink traffic, to enable one or more of the plurality of UEs to modify a respective UE setting.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein transmitting the detected level of the congestion in the uplink traffic further comprises:

transmitting, to the plurality of the UEs, the detected level of the congestion in the uplink traffic, to enable one or more of the plurality of UEs to modify the respective UE setting to mitigate or reduce the congestion in the uplink traffic.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a network settings module configured to be operated by the processor to store a plurality of network or user equipment (UE) settings associated with a plurality of UEs;

a congestion detection module configured to be operated by the processor to detect (i) congestion in uplink traffic between the plurality of UEs and a base station (BS), and (ii) a level of the congestion in the uplink traffic between the plurality of UEs and the BS;

a congestion control module configured to be operated by the processor to modify, based at least in part on the detected level of congestion exceeding a first threshold, a network or UE setting of the plurality of network or UE settings to generate a modified setting, wherein the network or UE setting of the plurality of network or UE settings is a first wireless communication standard used by a first UE of the plurality of UEs to communicate with the BS, wherein the first wireless communication standard has a first signaling overhead, wherein modifying the network or UE setting comprises:

based at least in part on the detected level of congestion exceeding the first threshold, selecting a second wireless communication standard having a second signaling overhead such that the second signaling overhead is less than the first signaling overhead, and

modifying the network or UE setting to change the wireless communication standard used by the first UE to communicate with the BS to the selected second wireless communication standard to achieve reduced signaling overhead associated with the uplink traffic; and

a transmission module configured to be operated by the processor to transmit the modified setting to the first UE of the plurality of UEs, to facilitate the first UE to transmit to the BS in accordance with the modified setting to achieve reduced signaling overhead associated with the uplink traffic.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein:

the network or UE setting is a first network or UE setting and the modified setting is a first modified setting;

the congestion control module is further configured to, based at least in part on the detected level of congestion exceeding a second threshold, modify a second network or UE setting to generate a modified second setting; and

the transmission module is further configured to transmit the modified second setting to the first UE, to facilitate the first UE to transmit to the BS in accordance with the modified second setting.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the second network or UE setting comprises a bit rate at which the first UE transmits to the BS, and wherein the congestion control module is configured to modify the second network or UE setting by decreasing the bit rate at which the first UE transmits to the BS.

21. The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising:

a congestion prediction module configured to predict congestion in the uplink traffic between the plurality of UEs and the BS,

wherein the congestion control module is further configured to, based at least in part on the predicted congestion, modify another network or UE setting of the plurality of network or UE settings to generate another modified setting, and

wherein the transmission module is further configured to transmit the another modified setting to the first UE of the plurality of UEs, to facilitate the first UE to transmit to the BS in accordance with the another modified setting.

22. A system comprising:

a processor;

a congestion prediction module configured to be operated by the processor to predict congestion in uplink traffic from a plurality of user equipments (UEs) to a base station (BS), wherein while the congestion is predicted, a first wireless communication standard is used by a first UE of the plurality of UEs to communicate with the BS, wherein the first wireless communication standard has a first signaling overhead;

a congestion control module configured to be operated by the processor to modify, based at least in part on predicting the congestion, a network or UE setting to generate a modified setting, wherein the network or UE setting is a wireless communication standard used by the first UE to communicate with the BS, wherein modifying the network or UE setting comprises:

based at least in part on a predicted level of congestion exceeding the first threshold, selecting a second wireless communication standard having a second signaling overhead such that the second signaling overhead is less than the first signaling overhead, and

modifying the network or UE setting to change the wireless communication standard used by the first UE to communicate with the BS to the selected second wireless communication standard to achieve reduced signaling overhead associated with the uplink traffic; and

a transmission module configured to be operated by the processor to transmit the modified setting to the first UE, to facilitate the first UE to transmit to the BS in accordance with the modified setting to achieve reduced signaling overhead associated with the uplink traffic.

23. The system of claim 22 , wherein predicting the congestion in the uplink traffic further comprises:

predicting the congestion in the uplink traffic, based at least in part on one or more of a current date, a current time, and a location of the BS.

24. The system of claim 22 , further comprising:

a module configured to be operated by the processor to reset, subsequent to the first UE transmitting to the BS in accordance with the modified setting, a communication carrier used by the first UE to communicate with the BS.