Systems and methods for interference mitigation for non-member user equipment devices in the vicinity of closed access small cells

1. A method comprising:

determining by a base station, that a user equipment (UE) device, attached to the base station, is within a coverage area of a small cell, wherein the small cell is operating on a first channel;

determining, by the base station, that the UE device is not a member of the small cell;

determining, by the base station, that a level of interference experienced by the UE device on the first channel is higher than an interference threshold;

sending, by the base station, an instruction to the UE device to provide measurement reports for base stations operating on other bands or channels, different from the first channel, on which the UE device is able to operate, in response to determining that the UE device is not a member of the small cell and determining that the level of interference experienced by the UE device on the first channel is higher than the interference threshold;

receiving, by the base station, a measurement report from the UE device that identifies one or more neighboring base stations operating on the other band or channel; and

performing, by the base station, a handover of the UE device to a neighboring base station, of the one or more neighboring base stations, wherein the UE device is to communicate with the neighboring base station using the other band or channel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the UE device is not a member of the small cell includes:

receiving a measurement report from the UE device, wherein the measurement report includes information indicating the membership status of the UE device with respect to the small cell.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the level of interference experienced by the UE device on the first channel is higher than the interference threshold includes:

receiving a measurement report from the UE device, wherein the measurement report includes a signal strength or quality value reported by the UE device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the signal strength or quality value includes at least one of:

a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value,

a Receive Strength Signal Indicator (RSSI) value,

a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value,

a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) value, or

a Signal to Interference Plus Noise Ratio (SINR) value.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving another measurement report from another UE device attached to the base station, wherein the other UE device is within the coverage area of the small cell;

determining that the other UE device is a member of the small cell, based on the received other measurement report; and

performing a handover of the other UE device from the base station to the small cell, in response to determining that the other UE device is a member of the small cell.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the handover of the UE device to the neighboring base station includes:

determining that the neighboring base station is an open access base station or that the UE device is a member of the neighboring base station; and

performing the handover of the UE device to the neighboring base station in response to determining that the neighboring base station is an open access base station or that the UE device is a member of the neighboring base station.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving another measurement report from another UE device attached to the base station, wherein the other UE device is within the coverage area of the small cell;

determining that the other UE device did not detect a neighboring base station operating on another band or channel based on the received other measurement report;

maintaining an attachment of the other UE device to the base station, in response to determining that the other UE device did not detect a neighboring base station operating on another band or channel; and

performing interference mitigation for the other UE device.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving another measurement report from another UE device attached to the base station, wherein the other UE device is within the coverage area of the small cell;

determining that all neighboring base stations operating on another band or channel identified by the other UE device correspond to closed access base stations;

maintaining an attachment of the other UE device to the base station, in response to determining that all the neighboring base stations operating on another band or channel identified by the other UE device correspond to closed access base stations; and

performing interference mitigation for the other UE device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base station corresponds to a Fourth Generation (4G) base station.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the base station corresponds to a Fifth Generation (5G) base station.

11. A device comprising:

a processor configured to:

determine that a user equipment (UE) device, attached to a base station, is within a coverage area of a small cell, wherein the small cell is operating on a first channel;

determine that the UE device is not a member of the small cell;

determine that a level of interference experienced by the UE device on the first channel is higher than an interference threshold;

send an instruction to the UE device to provide measurement reports for base stations operating on other bands or channels, different from the first channel, on which the UE device is able to operate, in response to determining that the UE device is not a member of the small cell and determining that the level of interference experienced by the UE device on the first channel is higher than the interference threshold;

receive a measurement report from the UE device that identifies one or more neighboring base stations operating on the other band or channel; and

perform a handover of the UE device to a neighboring base station, of the one or more neighboring base stations, wherein the UE device is to communicate with the at least one neighboring base station using the other band or channel.

12. The device of claim 11 , wherein, when determining that the UE device is not a member of the small cell, the processor is further configured to:

receive a measurement report from the UE device, wherein the measurement report includes information indicating the membership status of the UE device with respect to the small cell.

13. The device of claim 11 , wherein, when determining that the level of interference experienced by the UE device on the first channel is higher than the interference threshold, the processor is further configured to:

receive a measurement report from the UE device, wherein the measurement report includes a signal strength or quality value reported by the UE device.

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the signal strength or quality value includes at least one of:

a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value,

a Receive Strength Signal Indicator (RSSI) value,

a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value, or

a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) value.

15. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive another measurement report from another UE device attached to the base station, wherein the other UE device is within the coverage area of the small cell;

determine that the other UE device is a member of the small cell, based on the received other measurement report; and

perform a handover of the other UE device from the base station to the small cell, in response to determining that the other UE device is a member of the small cell.

16. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive another measurement report from another UE device attached to the base station, wherein the other UE device is within the coverage area of the small cell;

determine that the other UE device did not detect a neighboring base station operating on another band or channel based on the received other measurement report; and

maintain an attachment of the other UE device to the base station, in response to determining that the other UE device did not detect a neighboring base station operating on another band or channel; and

perform interference mitigation for the other UE device.

17. The device of claim 11 , wherein when performing the handover of the UE device to the neighboring base station, the processor is further configured to:

determine that the neighboring base station is an open access base station or that the UE device is a member of the neighboring base station; and

perform the handover of the UE device to the neighboring base station in response to determining that the neighboring base station is an open access base station or that the UE device is a member of the neighboring base station.

18. The device of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive another measurement report from another UE device attached to the base station, wherein the other UE device is within the coverage area of the small cell;

determine that all neighboring base stations operating on another band or channel identified by the other UE device correspond to closed access base stations;

maintain an attachment of the other UE device to the base station, in response to determining that all the neighboring base stations operating on another band or channel identified by the other UE device correspond to closed access base stations; and

perform interference mitigation for the other UE device.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable memory device storing instructions executable one a processor, the non-transitory computer-readable memory device comprising:

one or more instructions to determine that a user equipment (UE) device, attached to a base station, is within a coverage area of a small cell, wherein the small cell is operating on a first channel;

one or more instructions to determine that the UE device is not a member of the small cell;

one or more instructions to determine that a level of interference experienced by the UE device on the first channel is higher than an interference threshold;

one or more instructions to send an instruction to the UE device to provide measurement reports for base stations operating on other bands or channels, different from the first channel, on which the UE device is able to operate, in response to determining that the UE device is not a member of the small cell and determining that the level of interference experienced by the UE device operating on the first channel is higher than the interference threshold;

one or more instructions to receive a measurement report from the UE device that identifies one or more neighboring base stations operating on the other band or channel; and

one or more instructions to perform a handover of the UE device to a neighboring base station, of the one or more neighboring base stations, wherein the UE device is to communicate with the at least one neighboring base station using the other band or channel.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 19 , further comprising:

one or more instructions to receive a measurement report from the UE device for the first channel, wherein the measurement report includes information indicating the membership status of the UE device with respect to the small cell and information indicating a signal strength or quality value reported by the UE device with respect to the first channel.