Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product comprises determining a rise-over-thermal (RoT) budget associated with a cell within a communication network for user equipment served by the cell, determining a number of user equipment served by the cell to receive a minimum-grant of an uplink channel, determining a high-grant for allocation to a selected user equipment, the high-grant allowing the selected user equipment to communicate in the uplink channel of the communication network, the high-grant being based on the RoT budget, and allocating the high-grant to the selected user equipment and the minimum-grant to all other user equipment served by the cell.

Abstract: A method of joint processing of data in a radio access network (RAN) that includes a plurality of radio nodes each associated with a cell and a services node operatively coupled to the radio nodes is provided. The services node provides connectivity to a core network. The method includes determining that a plurality of first UEs (User Equipment) each being serviced by a selected set of the cells is to operate in accordance with a hybrid joint processing scheme. Information is transferred between the plurality of first UEs and the radio nodes in accordance with the hybrid joint processing scheme by performing L1 layer processing on the radio nodes and L2 layer processing at the services node.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided for obtaining downlink or uplink signal characteristics of at least one access point in a network. The signal characteristics may be obtained through user equipment receiving the signal characteristics, through the at least one access point, or through another access point. Frequency or timing offset between two or more access points may be determined based on the obtained signal characteristics, where the frequency or timing offset may be handled through post processing. For example, a clock servo may be controlled or adjusted in response to the determined offset, the absolute frequency of a master network oscillator may be calibrated, traffic anomalies within the network may be detected and corrected, and/or respective clocks of the two or more access points may be synchronized.

Abstract: A method comprises receiving a relocation required message for a user equipment from a source Radio Access Network (RAN); multicasting a relocation request to multiple local RANs; receiving a first relocation acknowledgement from a first local RAN of the multiple local RANs to which a user equipment may be handed into; and forwarding the first relocation acknowledgement to the source RAN.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for resolving Primary Scrambling Code (PSC) ambiguity. A radio link having the same PSC as that reported by user equipment (UE) may be created on some or all internal cells which are chosen based on radio frequency (RF) proximity to a serving cell of the UE or one or more iterations of a PSC resolution set selection process. If the UE is reporting the PSC of one of these cells, the UE and a Node Bs will be able to successfully complete a synchronization procedure to add one of the radio links to the UE's active set, while any remaining created radio links can be deleted. After a certain number of successful radio link additions, the combination of the PSC and active set may be considered to be resolved, therefore, negating a need to resolve the PSC in subsequent soft handover requests.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for efficiently implementing a rake receiver which allows for rake receiver elements, e.g., fingers, to be dynamically assigned to antenna elements are described. In at least some embodiments multiple antennas are used. Rake elements are allocated to antennas in a dynamic manner with sets of weights also being assigned dynamically, e.g., based on channel estimates. Rake finger assignment to antenna's is made, in some embodiments, to maximize signal recovery taking into consideration the channel conditions detected by each antenna for the various delays that may be supported. Through the dynamic assignment of rake finger's to antenna's, a single rake finger may be coupled to different antennas at different times allowing for more efficient use as compared to systems where rake fingers are dedicated on a fixed basis to an individual antenna.

Abstract: A beacon cell adapted for use in a small cell RAN includes dual identities—a beacon identity and a regular or “live” identity—in which the identities are individually configured to address differing performance requirements in the small cell RAN. The beacon identity in the cell is specially configured to meet the performance requirements for mobile user equipment (UE) to be able to quickly and easily move from a macrocell base station in a mobile operator's network to the small cell RAN using a process called “reselection.” The live identity is configured to meet all requirements for service to be provided to the UE within the small cell RAN. Once captured by the beacon identity of the beacon cell, the UE can then immediately reselect to the live identity of the cell which operates in a conventional manner.

Abstract: Methods, devices and computer program products facilitate self-configuration and self-optimization of radio networks. An internal topology discovery is performed to assess characteristics of a plurality of access points within an internal network. An external cell discovery can also be performed to identify one or more access points operating within an external network. Based on the assessments obtained through the internal and/or external topology discovery processes, operational parameters are assigned to each access point within the internal network. Such operational parameters can include a transmit power associated with each radio node.

Abstract: An access controller is coupled to an access point and receives data packets from connected user equipment. The access controller is configured to perform packet inspection techniques on the received packets to determine if they should be locally switched. In some embodiments, packets destined for a local intranet services may be locally switched to avoid congesting a core network link. In further embodiments, a local connection to the Internet may be used so that locally switched packets can also be directed to the Internet without the use of a core network link. In still further embodiment, in addition to packet inspection techniques, the access controller maintains a state table for the states of connected user equipment. The access controller may use the information in this table to further decide whether to perform local switching techniques.

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing location estimates of user equipment to be used in location based services are provided. Data collected from users in a local radio access network (RAN), such as an Enterprise RAN (E-RAN), as well as configuration information of the local RAN/E-RAN is siphoned from the system and utilized in conjunction with a location engine to provide a high accuracy location estimate for users in an indoor environment. The siphoned data is provided in a real-time location stream to the location engine.

Abstract: A services node (SN) is provided that functions as a local, premise-based gateway that anchors and aggregates a group of radio nodes (RNs). Accordingly, the SN absorbs the functionalities of conventional mobility management entities (MMEs), as well as serving and packet data network gateways, where the SN appears as a single virtual eNB to a macrocellular core network. As a result, complexity associated with aggregating and controlling a large number of RNs (performed by the SN) is hidden from the core network. Additionally, micro-mobility between individual RNs controlled by an SN is completely handled at a local enterprise gateway level, thus significantly reducing mobility-related signaling from impacting an MME pool in the code network. Moreover local data offloading is made possible via the SN.

Abstract: A method comprises receiving a measurement report, the measurement report containing information from a user equipment, the information being associated with a desired local Radio Access Network (RAN) cell to which the user equipment is to hand-in; and utilizing the information in the measurement report to disambiguate at least one target local RAN and cell from a plurality of local RANs and cells, the at least one target local RAN and cell including the desired local RAN cell.

Abstract: A method comprises multicasting an uplink configuration of a user equipment to multiple target local Radio Access Networks (RANs); receiving notification of detection of the presence of the user equipment from at least one of the multiple target local RANs; and sending a relocation request to the at least one of the multiple target local RANs based on the notifications of the detection of the presence of the user equipment.

Abstract: A method comprises receiving a relocation required message for a user equipment from a source Radio Access Network (RAN); multicasting a relocation request to multiple local RANs; receiving a first relocation acknowledgement from a first local RAN of the multiple local RANs to which a user equipment may be handed into; and forwarding the first relocation acknowledgement to the source RAN.

Abstract: Despreading apparatus with a relatively simple control is described. Plurality of despreading modules are provided in parallel, e.g., one per user. Each despreading module supports a plurality of despreading rates, e.g., ranging from the minimum to the maximum despreading rate that may be assigned to a user. Each despreading module is controlled in a simple manner with the output of the despreading module and despreading rate achieved being determined by a control module controlling a controllable downsampling module such that despreading rate corresponding to the individual user to which the despreading module corresponds is achieved at any given time. MUX control signals are provided to a plurality of MUXes included in the despreading module, and may be stored in a table with each set of MUX control signals corresponding to a different despreading rate. Control is greatly simplified, compared to systems where a set of despreading circuitry is dynamically configured.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for dynamically allocating processing resources between low rate, e.g., standard rate, and high rate data channel processing chains are described. This allows for different numbers of high data rate and standard data rate uplink users to be supported at different times using the same set of hardware.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for power control for mitigation or control of interference in a wireless communications environment. Power control techniques can consider the effectiveness of interference cancellation before making power control determinations. For example, where interference with a base station from an interfering wireless terminal is being canceled such that the effects of that interference are not adversely affecting operations of the base station, the offending terminal can be left unchanged, or its transmit power can be increased. On the other hand, where the interference cancellation operation is not able to cancel the effects of the interfering signal sufficiently, the operation can lower the uplink transmit power of the offending signal so as to not cause interference to the other base station.

Abstract: Apparatus for recovering symbols from control and data channels corresponding to a plurality of users is described. Samples corresponding to control channel signals from multiple users are processed on a time shared basis with various control channel processing elements being reused multiple times to processes the samples and recover signals, e.g., symbols, corresponding to the plurality of users. While the control channel processing elements are used on a time shared basis, a separate data channel processing chain or module maybe provided for each of the plurality of users. In some embodiments the order of despreading and filtering is reversed for the control and data channel signal processing.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of operating a femtocell control module in control of a femtocell, comprising transmitting a request to operate the femtocell to an external control system; receiving a response from the external control system, where the response comprises an operational constraint on the femtocell; and causing the femtocell to conduct cellular communications according to the operational constraint.

Abstract: Methods, devices, and computer program products facilitate proper allocation of network resource in a self-configuring network. The initial configuration space associated with the self-configuring network is updated based on information received from the network that describes particular adequacies or inadequacies of the initial configuration space. Based on the received information, the configuration space is updated to accommodate proper and efficient operations of the network.