Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for dynamically adjusting modulation and encoding scheme (MCS) and transport block size (TBS) used for downlink transmissions from a base station (BS) to a user equipment device (UE) based on a frequency of retransmission requests from the UE. The BS may identify the UE as belonging to a first class of UEs designated as being capable of receiving data at a first data rate that is higher than a second data rate designated for UEs of a second class, for the same downlink channel quality reported by the UE. Based on the identification, the BS may select a MCS and TBS for the UE corresponding to the first data rate. Upon receiving more than a threshold number of retransmission requests from the UE, the BS may switch to using the second, lower data rate. The first and second classes could correspond to later and earlier technology generations, for example.

Abstract: In an example method, a base station determines that a UE is CSFB capable and that the base station is currently serving a relay on a first carrier of a plurality of carriers. The base station provides a coverage area on which to serve UEs, and the coverage area operates on the plurality of carriers. Based on at least the determining that the UE is CSFB capable and that the base station is currently serving the relay on the first carrier, the base station assigns the UE to operate on a carrier of the plurality of carriers other than the first carrier rather than having the UE operate on the first carrier on which the base station is currently serving the relay.

Abstract: Coordinated multipoint (CoMP) can improve uplink service in cellular networks. However, uplink CoMP can also burden an access network, such as by increasing processing loads at base stations and/or increasing traffic on backhaul links between base stations. Accordingly, exemplary methods and systems help to dynamically select an uplink CoMP mode for a user equipment (UE) based on various factors, such as whether the UE is located at a border cell, whether or not carrier aggregation is being utilized for downlink communications with the UE, and/or whether or not the UE is a heavy data user, among other possible factors.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for extending coverage of a wireless device. A plurality of wireless devices located in a coverage area of a first access node can be monitored for a first condition. At least one wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices that meets the first condition can be classified as a high power wireless device. Two or more indicators reported by the at least one wireless device are compared to a criteria. When the two or more indicators meet the criteria, a handoff of the at least one wireless device from the first access node to a second access node can be performed.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method and corresponding system for controlling operation of a user equipment device (UE) in a communication system comprising a first network and a second network interconnected with the first network. The UE may detect a public land mobile network identifier (PLMN ID) broadcast by a base station of the first network, where the base station does not support circuit switched fallback (CSFB) between the two networks The UE may determine, based on the detected PLMN ID, whether to operate in a first mode or a second mode, where (i) the first mode comprises, in response to the base station not supporting CSFB, the UE declining to be served by the base station and the UE instead being served directly by the second network and (ii) the second mode comprises the UE being served by the base station. The UE may then operate in the determined mode.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for providing enhanced access class barring in LTE are provided. In embodiments, the method includes receiving, on a mobile device, a SIB2 message. A barring factor associated with the SIB2 message is identified. In embodiments, the barring factor is dynamic based on traffic parameters associated with a network. An upper limit for a random number is set on the mobile device and the random number is generated. The random number is generated and compared to the barring factor. If the random number is less than the barring factor, access to the network is provided to the mobile device. In embodiments, an additional random number is generated for special users or devices if the random number is greater than or equal to the barring factor.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for performing carrier aggregation based on subframe configuration. It may be determined that conditions for a wireless device in communication with an access node meet a carrier aggregation criteria, wherein the access node and wireless device communicate using a first subframe configuration. Signal information may be received from the wireless device comprising received signal levels for a plurality of candidate secondary carriers. Subframe configurations used by the candidate secondary carriers to communicate with wireless devices may be retrieved. One or more of the plurality of candidate secondary carriers may be selected based on the received signal level information and the retrieved subframe configurations. And carrier aggregation may be activated such that the one or more selected secondary carriers are used to transmit downlink data to the wireless device.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling TTI bundling in a wireless communication system that includes a base station configured to serve UEs over an air interface, where each UE has a maximum transmit power for air interface transmission, where the UEs include a first class of UEs and a second class of UEs, and where the maximum transmit power of the UEs of the second class is higher than the maximum transmit power of the UEs of the first class. The base station detects a capacity constraint on the air interface, such a threshold high air interface load, and the base station responds by operating in a mode in which the base station differentially controls application of TTI bundling as between the first class of UEs and the second class of UEs, based on the second class of UEs having higher maximum transmit power than the first class of UEs.

Abstract: A method and system for paging of a wireless client device (WCD). When a wireless communication system encounters a trigger to page a WCD, the system will identify the WCD's most recent serving base station (e.g., the WCD's currently registered base station, or the base station providing the WCD's currently registered coverage area) and will determine whether that base station is a relay base station or rather a non-relay base station. If the base station is a non-relay base station, then the system will provide the initial page of the WCD via just that base station (e.g., as in the zone based paging process discussed above). Whereas, if the base station is a relay base station, then the system will provide the initial (ordinal first) page of the WCD via both that base station and the donor base station that provides the relay base station's wireless backhaul connection.

Abstract: When a base station is serving a user equipment device (UE) that tunes away from the base station during recurring tune-away periods, the base station will determine that the base station did not receive a communication expected to be received at a particular time from the UE. Based on the determining, the base station will estimate a first tune-away period of the UE's recurring tune-away periods to be a time period that encompasses the particular time. And based on the estimated first tune-away period, the base station will estimate times of subsequent tune-away periods. The base station will then configure itself such that it avoids communicating with the UE during the estimated times of the subsequent tune-away periods.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods and systems to facilitate variation of timer duration. In particular, a relay node (RN) may be configured to be served by a base station (BS) over a relay backhaul air interface and may be configured to serve user equipment devices (UEs) over a relay coverage air interface. Also, the RN may be configured (i) to detect when a threshold error in communication occurs on the relay backhaul air interface, (ii) in response to detecting the threshold error in communication, to start a timer that runs for a timer duration, and (iii) to respond to expiration of the timer duration by engaging in management of the relay backhaul air interface. With these arrangements, the RN may determine a count of how many UEs are being served by the RN over the relay coverage air interface and may set the timer duration based on the determined count of UEs.

Abstract: A method and system for controlling handover of a WCD based on the WCD's operating temperature. In an example implementation, a determination is made that the WCD's operating temperature is threshold high, and that determination is used as a basis to trigger handover of the WCD to another coverage system, such as to another carrier frequency or to another base station coverage area. Further, in another example implementation, a determination is made that the WCD's operating temperature is threshold low (e.g., is not threshold high), and that determination is used as a basis to trigger handover of the WCD to another coverage system, such as back to the WCD's initially serving coverage system.

Abstract: A method and system to assign a contention-free access resource is disclosed. A first network may be configured to serve user equipment devices (UEs) according to a first protocol and a second network may be configured to serve UEs according to a second protocol. The method involves the first network detecting an attempt to set up a circuit-switched-fallback (CSFB) call between (i) a UE served by the first network and (ii) a remote party, where the CSFB call is to be served by the second network to which the UE would transition to be served with the CSFB call. The method further involves, in response to detecting the attempt to set up the CSFB call, the first network assigning a contention-free access resource to the UE, so as to allow a contention-free access request by the UE to the first network.

Abstract: Methods and systems disclosed herein can help to dynamically adjust page transmission power, and in particular, the transmission power for quick paging bits, depending upon whether a user equipment (UE) is operating as a single radio LTE (SRLTE) device. An exemplary method involves an access network making a determination that a UE is configured to use a single radio system for (a) data communication under a first air interface protocol, and (b) voice calls under a second air interface protocol; and responsively initiating a process to set a transmission power used to page the first UE for a voice call under the second air interface protocol to a higher power level, as compared to a transmission power level utilized to page a second UE configured to use separate radio systems for data communication under the first air interface protocol and voice calls under the second air interface protocol.

Abstract: When a base station is using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication defining multiple layers of communication to serve a user equipment device (UE) over an uplink channel, and the base station detects that its backhaul connection is threshold highly congested, the base station will responsively reduce the number of communication layers used to serve the UE over the uplink channel. In some examples, the base station could reduce the number of communication layers to a single layer, thereby transitioning from serving the UE using uplink MIMO communication to serving the UE using uplink single-input single-output (SISO) communication.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems for adjusting the maximum number of downlink retransmissions that are permissible for a user entity, according to whether or not coordinated multipoint service is being provided for the user entity.

Abstract: A method and system to control WCD handover. A first base station will request load information from a second base station, and, based at least in part on a result of that request, the first base station will control handover of the WCD. The first base station may decline to hand over the WCD to the second base station in response to determining that the first base station did not responsively receive load information from the second base station. Further, the first base station may determine a level of confidence in load information of the second base station based on whether the first base station received load information of the second base station and based on whether the first and second base stations are provided by the same vendor, and the first base station may then use that level of confidence as a basis to control handover of the WCD.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method and corresponding system for controlling how a user equipment device (UE) is served by a second network while the UE is concurrently served by a base station of a first network, where the first network has an interconnection with the second network. In an example method, if the UE determines that the base station serving the UE is not a relay base station, the UE then causes itself to be served by the second network in a first mode in which the UE is registered with the second network via the first network. Whereas, if the UE determines that the base station is a relay base station, the UE then instead causes itself to be served by the second network in a second mode in which the UE is registered with the second network directly via the second network rather than via the first network.

Abstract: A radio access network may determine that a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) transmission schedule of a wireless air interface defined by the RAN includes time-division-multiplexed slots that are subject to HARQ acknowledgment bundling and time-division-multiplexed slots that are not subject to HARQ acknowledgment bundling. The RAN may assign, to relay base stations served by the RAN, time-division-multiplexed slots of the wireless air interface that are not subject to HARQ acknowledgment bundling. The RAN may also assign, to non-relay wireless communication devices (WCDs) served by the RAN, time-division-multiplexed slots of the wireless air interface that are subject to HARQ acknowledgment bundling. The RAN may transmit, over the air interface, HARQ subpackets according to the transmission schedule and assignments of time-division-multiplexed slots.

Abstract: A method and system for disabling handover of a wireless communication device (WCD) that is acting as a relay WCD in relay base station. The relay WCD may receive from its serving base station a parameter message including one or more sets of handover threshold parameter values, where the relay WCD compares measurements of power received from one or more base stations with one or more handover threshold values to determine if a condition is met for sending receive-power measurement messages to the serving base station. Based on the one or more sets of handover threshold values, the relay WCD may infer what capability the serving base station has for distinguishing between relay WCDs and non-relay WCDs. Based on the inference, the relay WCD may control its reporting to the serving base station of receive-power measurement reports relating to the one or more sets of handover threshold values.