Method and apparatus for mobile station management and system
View Patent ↗A communication system optimizes system performance by selectively managing which mobile stations (MSs) are to serve as test MSs. The test MSs report system operating parameters in order to detect sleeping cells, coverage holes, or other flaws in system coverage or in order to determine an impact of a change in an access network configuration. The communication system further provides for end-to-end messaging between the test MSs and network servers via an access network and a core network, thereby permitting network elements that are best able to perform system optimization to control the monitoring, measuring, and reporting by the MSs. To minimize system and user inconvenience, reporting by a test MS further may be based on one or more of whether the MS is in an area of low mobility, has an acceptable power source output level, and is operating in a cell with an acceptable load level.
1. A method for managing reporting by a mobile station comprising:
determining, by an infrastructure, a test coverage area;
determining, by the infrastructure, a plurality of mobile stations associated with the test coverage area to produce a plurality of test mobile stations;
in response to determining the plurality of test mobile stations, provisioning, by the infrastructure to the plurality of test mobile stations and over the air, policies that prompt a reporting by the test mobile stations, wherein the policies comprise an identification of the system operating parameters to be measured by the test mobile stations, instructions for assembling a report message that comprises the measured system operating parameters, and a destination address for a conveyance of the report message; and
in response to provisioning the policies to the plurality of test mobile stations, reporting, by one or more mobile stations of the plurality of test mobile stations, measured system operating parameters;
wherein reporting comprises:
determining, by each test mobile station of the plurality of test mobile stations, whether the test mobile station is in an area of low mobility, has an acceptable power source output level, and is operating in a cell with an acceptable cell loading level;
when the test mobile station is in an area of low mobility, has an acceptable power source output level, and is operating in a cell with an acceptable cell loading level, reporting, by the test mobile station, the measured system operating parameters; and
when a test mobile station of the plurality of test mobile stations is not in an area of low mobility, does not have an acceptable power source output level, and is not operating in a cell with an acceptable cell loading level, storing, by the test mobile station, the measured system parameters to produce stored system parameters and waiting, by the test mobile station, for an expiration of a waiting period before reconsidering reporting the stored system parameters.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining, by a reporting test mobile station, a location of the mobile station and wherein reporting further comprises reporting, by the test mobile station, a location of the test mobile station.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein when, upon expiration of the waiting period, the test mobile station is in an area of low mobility, has an acceptable power source output level, and is operating in a cell with an acceptable cell loading level, reporting, by the test mobile station, the stored system parameters.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining, by the test mobile station, a location of the test mobile station, wherein reporting further comprises reporting, by the test mobile station, the location of the test mobile station, and wherein storing further comprises storing the location of the test mobile station as part of the stored system parameters.
5. A system for managing reporting by a mobile station, the system comprising:
a network server comprising:
an at least one memory device that maintains policies that comprise an identification of system operating parameters to be measured by test mobile stations, instructions for assembling a report message that comprises the measured system operating parameters, and a destination address for a conveyance of the report message; and
a processor that is configured to determine a test coverage area, determine a plurality of mobile stations associated with the test coverage area to produce a plurality of test mobile stations, in response to determining the plurality of test mobile stations, provision, to the plurality of test mobile stations and over the air, the policies, instructions, and a destination address, and by provisioning the policies, instructions, and a destination address to the test mobile stations prompt a reporting by the test mobile stations of measured system operating parameters, and in response to provisioning the policies to the plurality of test mobile stations, receive, from one or more test mobile stations of the plurality of test mobile stations, the measured system operating parameters; and
a mobile station that is configured to, in response to receiving the policies, determine whether the mobile station is in an area of low mobility, has an acceptable power source output level, and is operating in a cell with an acceptable cell loading level, when the mobile station is in an area of low mobility, has an acceptable power source output level, and is operating in a cell with an acceptable cell loading level, report the measured system operating parameters, and when the mobile station is not in an area of low mobility, does not have an acceptable power source output level, and is not operating in a cell with an acceptable cell loading level, store the measured system parameters to produce stored system parameters and wait for an expiration of a waiting period before reconsidering reporting the stored system parameters.