Method and system for radio frequency measurement and automatic frequency planning in a cellular radio system

Claim 1

A method for obtaining information on non-BCCH carrier frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said method comprising: sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results and sending said measurement report to the base station serving that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 2

A method for obtaining information on non-BCCH carrier frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said method comprising: sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results and sending said measurement report to the base station serving that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 13

A method for obtaining information on radio frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said air interface standard providing for periodic measurement of the signal strength of the BCCH-carriers of the neighboring cells of said particular cell for purposes of possible handoff of said mobile station to a neighboring cell by sending a list of said neighboring BCCH-carriers to each mobile station in said particular cell within a message sent on the SACCH, said method comprising: sending within said SACCH message containing said list of neighboring BCCH-carriers from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the BCCH-carrier and non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and formatting a measurement report containing an identification of both the BCCH-carriers and the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; and sending said measurement report from the mobile station to the base station serving that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 14

A method for obtaining information on radio frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said air interface standard providing for periodic measurement of the signal strength of the BCCH-carriers of the neighboring cells of said particular cell for purposes of possible handoff of said mobile station to a neighboring cell by sending a list of said neighboring BCCH-carriers to each mobile station in said particular cell within a message sent on the SACCH, said method comprising: sending within said SACCH message containing said list of neighboring BCCH-carriers from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the BCCH-carrier and non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and formatting a measurement report containing an identification of both the BCCH-carriers and the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; and sending said measurement report from the mobile station to the base station serving that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 20

A method of performing automatic frequency allocation within a cellular radio telecommunications system operated in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobile stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said method comprising the steps of: measuring on the uplink at the base station the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies within a plurality of the cells of said system; measuring on the downlink at at least one mobile station within each of said plurality of cells the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies, said step of measuring on the downlink further including the steps of: sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving each of said cells to a mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; sending the measured signal strengths of the carrier frequencies measured at each mobile station to their respective serving base stations in the form of the measurement report using a SACCH message; assembling within the system a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is currently allocated within a selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan and a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is not allocated within said same selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan; determining whether any non-allocated frequencies within said cell are less interfered with than any allocated frequencies in said cell; modifying said system frequency plan by replacing a more interfered with frequency in said cell with a less interfered with frequency to improve the quality of service within said cell.

Claim 21

A method of performing automatic frequency allocation within a cellular radio telecommunications system operated in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobile stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said method comprising the steps of: measuring on the uplink at the base station the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies within a plurality of the cells of said system; measuring on the downlink at at least one mobile station within each of said plurality of cells the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies, said step of measuring on the downlink further including the steps of: sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving each of said cells to a mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; sending the measured signal strengths of the carrier frequencies measured at each mobile station to their respective serving base stations in the form of the measurement report using a SACCH message; assembling within the system a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is currently allocated within a selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan and a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is not allocated within said same selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan; determining whether any non-allocated frequencies within said cell are less interfered with than any allocated frequencies in said cell; modifying said system frequency plan by replacing a more interfered with frequency in said cell with a less interfered with frequency to improve the quality of service within said cell.

Claim 24

A system for obtaining information on non-BCCH carrier frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said system comprising: means for sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; means for measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and means for formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; and means for sending said report to the serving base station of that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 25

A system for obtaining information on non-BCCH carrier frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said system comprising: means for sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; means for measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and means for formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; and means for sending said report to the serving base station of that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 31

A system for obtaining information on radio frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SCCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said air interface standard providing for periodic measurement of the signal strength of the BCCH-carriers of the neighboring cells of said particular cell for purposes of possible handoff of said mobile station to a neighboring cell by sending a list of said neighboring BCCH-carriers to each mobile station in said particular cell within a message sent on the SACCH, said system comprising: means for sending within said SACCH message containing said list of neighboring BCCH-carriers from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; means for measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the BCCH-carriers and non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and means for formatting a measurement report containing an identification of both the BCCH-carriers and the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; and means for sending said measurement report to the base station serving that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 32

A system for obtaining information on radio frequency channels within a particular cell of a cellular radio telecommunications network operating in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobiles stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SCCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said air interface standard providing for periodic measurement of the signal strength of the BCCH-carriers of the neighboring cells of said particular cell for purposes of possible handoff of said mobile station to a neighboring cell by sending a list of said neighboring BCCH-carriers to each mobile station in said particular cell within a message sent on the SACCH, said system comprising: means for sending within said SACCH message containing said list of neighboring BCCH-carriers from the base station serving said particular cell to said mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; means for measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the BCCH-carriers and non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and means for formatting a measurement report containing an identification of both the BCCH-carriers and the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; and means for sending said measurement report to the base station serving that cell within a SACCH message.

Claim 38

A system for performing automatic frequency allocation within a cellular radio telecommunications system operated in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobile stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said system comprising: means for measuring on the uplink at the base station the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies within a plurality of the cells of said system; means for measuring on the downlink at at least one mobile station within each of said plurality of cells the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies, said means for measuring on the downlink further including: means for sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving each of said cells to a mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; means for measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and means for formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; means for sending the measured signal strengths of the carrier frequencies measured at the mobile stations to each of their respective serving base stations in the form of the measurement report; means for assembling within the network a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is currently allocated within a selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan and a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is not allocated within said same selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan; means for determining whether any non-allocated frequencies within said cell are less interfered with any allocated frequencies in said cell; means for modifying said system frequency plan by replacing a more interfered with frequency in said cell with a less interfered with frequency to improve the quality of service within said cell.

Claim 39

A system for performing automatic frequency allocation within a cellular radio telecommunications system operated in accordance with an air interface standard which includes a broadcast control channel (BCCH) carrying control messages from a base station to mobile stations operating with the cell which said base station is serving and a slow associated control channel (SACCH) carrying messages in both directions between each of said mobile stations and said base station while said mobile station is in active mode within said cell, said system comprising: means for measuring on the uplink at the base station the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies within a plurality of the cells of said system; means for measuring on the downlink at at least one mobile station within each of said plurality of cells the signal strength on a plurality of carrier frequencies, said means for measuring on the downlink further including: means for sending within a SACCH message from the base station serving each of said cells to a mobile station operating in active mode within that cell, a list of the non-BCCH carrier frequency channels upon which measurements are to be performed by the mobile station; means for measuring at the mobile station the signal strength of each of the non-BCCH carrier frequencies specified in the SACCH message; and means for formatting a measurement report containing an identification of the particular non-BCCH carrier frequency channels measured by the mobile station along with the measurement results; means for sending the measured signal strengths of the carrier frequencies measured at the mobile stations to each of their respective serving base stations in the form of the measurement report; means for assembling within the network a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is currently allocated within a selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan and a composite signal strength value for each of the carriers which is not allocated within said same selected one of said plurality of cells by the system frequency plan; means for determining whether any non-allocated frequencies within said cell are less interfered with any allocated frequencies in said cell; means for modifying said system frequency plan by replacing a more interfered with frequency in said cell with a less interfered with frequency to improve the quality of service within said cell.