Enhanced Mobile Base Station
Systems and methods for an in-vehicle base station are described. In one embodiment, a mobile base station is disclosed comprising a first access radio for providing an access network inside and outside a vehicle; a second backhaul radio for providing a backhaul connection to a macro cell; and a global positioning system (GPS) module for determining a location of the mobile base station, and for transmitting the location of the mobile base station to a core network, wherein a transmit power of the first access radio is configured to increase or decrease based on a speed of the vehicle.
1 . A method for assigning a mobile tracking area (TA), comprising:
assigning, by a coordinating node, a mobile TA for an in-vehicle eNodeB;
providing, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, an access network to at least one user device located within the mobile TA;
providing, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, the mobile TA to the at least one user device;
moving, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, between different TAs for backhaul coverage, wherein User Equipments (UEs) inside the in-vehicle eNodeB do not move between TAs; and
sending, by the coordinating node, paging messages to the in-vehicle eNodeB.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising determining, by the coordinating node, a
location of attached UEs from a Global Positioning System (GPS) location of the vehicle.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the assigning a mobile TA for an in-vehicle eNodeB includes assigning all in-vehicle base stations to a same mobile TA.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein a user device comprises a UE, a Wi-Fi device, or a mobile device connected via a trusted Wi-Fi gateway to a core network via a Wi-Fi access network.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising moving, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, to a new TA and associating with the new TA via a tracking area update (TAU) message sent to a core network.
6 . The method of claim 5 wherein UEs attached to the in-vehicle eNodeB do not send a TAU and remain on the mobile TA.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the sending paging messages to the in-vehicle eNodeB further comprises sending, by the in-vehicle eNodeB a wakeup message to the UE.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein all calls from a TA are known to the coordinating node as coming from a mobile base station, and directing location requests from the core network to the coordinating node for locating the mobile base station.
9 . A system for assigning a mobile tracking area (TA), comprising:
a coordinating node;
an in-vehicle base station in wireless communication with the coordinating node; and
a User Equipment (UE) in wireless communication with and disposed within the in-vehicle base station;
wherein the coordinating node assigns a mobile tracking area (TA) for the in-vehicle
eNodeB, the in-vehicle eNodeB provides an access network to at least one user device located within the mobile TA; the in-vehicle eNodeB provides the mobile TA to the at least one user device; the in-vehicle eNodeB moves between different TAs for backhaul coverage, User Equipments (UEs) inside the in-vehicle eNodeB do not move between TAs; and the coordinating node sends paging messages to the in-vehicle eNodeB.
10 . The system of claim 9 wherein the coordinating node determines a location of attached UEs from a Global Positioning System (GPS) location of the vehicle.
11 . The system of claim 9 wherein all in-vehicle base stations are assigned to a same mobile TA.
12 . The system of claim 9 wherein the in-vehicle eNodeB moves to a new TA and associates with the new TA via a tracking area update (TAU) message sent to a core network, and wherein UEs attached to the in-vehicle eNodeB do not send a TAU and remain on the mobile TA.
13 . The system of claim 9 wherein the in-vehicle eNodeB sends a wakeup message to the UE.
14 . The system of claim 9 wherein all calls from a TA are known to the coordinating node as coming from a mobile base station, and wherein location requests from the core network are directed to the coordinating node for locating the mobile base station.
15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions for assigning a mobile tracking area (TA) which, when executed, cause a system including a coordinating node, an in-vehicle eNobeB and a user device, to perform steps comprising:
assigning, by the coordinating node, a mobile tracking area (TA) for the in-vehicle
eNodeB;
providing, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, an access network to at least one user device located within the mobile TA;
providing, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, the mobile TA to the at least one user device;
moving, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, between different TAs for backhaul coverage, wherein User Equipments (UEs) inside the in-vehicle eNodeB do not move between TAs; and
sending, by the coordinating node, paging messages to the in-vehicle eNodeB.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 further comprising instructions for determining, by the coordinating node, a location of attached UEs from a Global
Positioning System (GPS) location of the vehicle.
17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 further comprising instructions wherein the assigning a mobile TA for an in-vehicle eNodeB includes assigning all in-vehicle base stations to a same mobile TA.
18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 further comprising instructions for moving, by the in-vehicle eNodeB, to a new TA and associating with the new TA via a tracking area update (TAU) message sent to a core network, and instructions wherein UEs attached to the in-vehicle eNodeB do not send a TAU and remain on the mobile TA.
19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 further comprising instructions wherein the sending paging messages to the in-vehicle eNodeB further comprises sending, by the in-vehicle eNodeB a wakeup message to the UE.
20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 further comprising instructions wherein all calls from a TA are known to the coordinating node as coming from a mobile base station, and directing location requests from the core network to the coordinating node for locating the mobile base station.