Selecting a communication channel based on a neighboring cell constraint

1. A method for selecting a channel to use for communicating, comprising:

retrieving, for each channel in a plurality of channels, a respective stored user equipment report for the channel, wherein the respective stored user equipment report includes data describing a detected neighborhood small cell (NSC) that is operating on the channel and a respective reference signal received power (RSRP) from the detected NSC;

computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a non-NSC related received signal strength indication (RSSI) by subtracting the respective RSRP from a total received signal strength indication;

computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a respective modified non-NSC RSSI by applying the non-NSC RSSI to a cumulative distribution function;

computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a respective modified RSRP by applying the respective RSRP for each channel in the plurality of channels to a cumulative distribution function;

calculating, using a processor, a utility value for each channel in the plurality of channels by weighting, based on a number of NSCs using each respective channel in the plurality of channels, both the respective modified non-NSC RSSI for each channel and the respective modified RSRP for each channel; and

choosing a channel having a highest utility value or a lowest utility value as the channel to use for the communicating.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data about the detected NSC that is operating on the channel further comprises data describing a median of multiple measurements of the RSRP for at least one channel in the plurality of channels.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculating the utility value uses the following equation to determine the utility value (U n ) for a channel (n) in the plurality of channels:

U n =−( M n −K n *Δ)

where:

M n =the respective modified non-NSC RSSI and the respective modified RSRP for the channel,

K n =the number of neighboring access points using the channel, and

Δ=an amount to bias a transmission characteristic measurement for each neighboring access point using the channel.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processor is part of an access point, and the choosing is performed during boot-up of the access point.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using a default channel prior to completing the choosing.

6. An apparatus configured to select a communication channel to use, comprising:

a processor configured to:

retrieve, for each channel in a plurality of channels, a respective stored user equipment report for the channel, wherein the respective stored user equipment report includes data describing a detected neighborhood small cell (NSC) that is operating on the channel and a respective reference signal received power (RSRP) from the detected NSC;

compute, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a non-NSC related received signal strength indication (RSSI) by subtracting the respective RSRP from a total received signal strength indication;

compute, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a repective modified non-NSC RSSI by applying the non-NSC RSSI to a cumulative distribution function;

compute, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a respective modified RSRP by applying the respective RSRP for each channel to a cumulative distribution function;

calculate, using the processor, a utility value for each channel in the plurality of channels by weighting, based on a number of the NSCs using each respective channel in the plurality of channels, both the respective modified non-NSC RSSI for each channel and the respective modified RSRP for each channel; and

choose a channel having a highest utility value or a lowest utility value as the channel to use for the communicating.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the data about the detected NSC that is operating on the channel further comprises data describing a median of multiple measurements of the RSRP for at least one channel in the plurality of channels.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to use the following equation to determine the utility value (U n ) for a channel (n) in the plurality of channels:

U n =−( M n −K n *Δ)

where:

M n =the respective modified non-NSC RSSI and the respective modified RSRP for the channel,

K n =the number of neighboring access point using the channel, and

Δ=an amount to bias a transmission characteristic measurement for each neighboring access point using the channel.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising at least one of a mobile device, an access point, a communications device, a personal digital assistant, a fixed location data unit, a computer, or a combination thereof, with which the processor is integrated.

10. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processor is part of an access point, and the choosing is performed during boot-up of the access point.

11. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to use a default channel prior to completing the choosing.

12. An apparatus configured to select a communication channel to use, comprising:

means for retrieving, for each channel in a plurality of channels, a respective stored user equipment report for the channel, wherein the respective stored user equipment report includes data describing a detected neighborhood small cell (NSC) that is operating on the channel and a respective reference signal received power (RSRP) from the detected NSC;

means for computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a non-NSC related received signal strength indication (RSSI) by subtracting the respective RSRP from a total received signal strength indication;

means for computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a respective modified non-NSC RSSI by applying the non-NSC RSSI to a cumulative distribution function;

means for computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a respective modified RSRP by applying the respective RSRP for each channel to a cumulative distribution function;

means for calculating, using a processor, a utility value for each channel in the plurality of channels by weighting, based on a number of NSCs using each respective channel in the plurality of channels, both the respective modified non-NSC RSSI for each channel and the respective modified RSRP for each channel; and

means for choosing a channel having a highest utility value or a lowest utility value as the channel to use for the communicating.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the data about the detected NSC that is operating on the channel further comprises data describing a median of multiple measurements of the RSRP for at least one channel in the plurality of channels.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the means for calculating the utility value uses the following equation to determine the utility value (U n ) for a channel (n) in the plurality of channels:

U n =−( M n −K n *Δ)

where:

M n =the respective modified non-NSC RSSI and the respective modified RSRP for the channel,

K n =the number of neighboring access points using the channel, and

Δ=an amount to bias a transmission characteristic measurement for each neighboring access point using the channel.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the means for choosing is part of an access point, and the means for choosing is configured to perform the choosing during boot-up of the access point.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 , further comprising means for using a default channel prior to completing the choosing.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising:

processor-executable instructions stored thereon that are configured to cause a processor to execute at least one instruction to perform a method comprising:

retrieving, for each channel in a plurality of channels, a respective stored user equipment report for the channel, wherein the respective stored user equipment report includes data describing a detected neighborhood small cell (NSC) that is operating on the channel and a respective reference signal received power (RSRP) from the detected NSC;

computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a non-NSC related received signal strength indication (RSSI) by subtracting the respective RSRP from a total received signal strength indication;

computing, for each channel in the plurality fo channels, a respective modified non-NSC RSSI by applying the non-NSC RSSI to a cumulative distribution function;

computing, for each channel in the plurality of channels, a respective modified RSRP by applying the respective RSRP for each channel to a cumulative distribution function;

calculating, using the processor, a utility value for each channel in the plurality of channels by weighting, based on a number of the NSCs using each respective channel in the plurality of channels, both the respective modified non-NSC RSSI for each channel and the respective modified RSRP for each channel; and

choosing a channel having a highest utility value or a lowest utility value as the channel to use for the communicating.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the data about the detected NSC that is operating on the channel further comprises data describing a median of multiple measurements of the RSRP for at least one channel in the plurality of channels.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the calculating the utility value uses the following equation to determine the utility value (U n ) for a channel (n) in the plurality of channels:

U n =−( M n −K n *Δ)

where:

M n =the respective modified non-NSC RSSI and the respective modified RSRP for the channel,

K n =number of neighboring access points using the channel, and

Δ=an amount to bias a transmission characteristic measurement for each neighboring access point using the channel.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises using a default channel prior to completing the choosing.