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EP-4264900-B1 - 5G ZERO TOUCH TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

EP4264900B1EP 4264900 B1EP4264900 B1EP 4264900B1EP-4264900-B1

Inventors

  • PANCHAL, PARESHKUMAR

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20211213

Claims (15)

  1. A computing device, comprising: a memory that stores computer instructions; and a processor that executes the computer instructions to perform actions, the actions including: identifying (302) a target cell in network, wherein the target cell is associated with a network objective; identifying (304) one or more neighbor cells of the target cell in the network; determining (306, 308) transmit power capabilities and antenna tilt capabilities of the target cell; determining (310) an interference between the target cell and the one or more neighbor cells; determining (312, 316) an electrical antenna tilt adjustment or a transmit power adjustment for the target cell based on the transmit power capabilities, the antenna tilt capabilities, the interference, and the network objective, including: determining an effective radio height of the target cell based on a combination of a terrain elevation at the target cell and an antenna height of the target cell; determining the effective radio height of each corresponding neighbor cell of the one or more neighbor cells based on a combination of the terrain elevation at the corresponding neighbor cell and the antenna height of the corresponding neighbor cell; generating an elevation matrix for the target cell and the one or more neighbor cells to include a position and the effective radio height of the target cell and the position and the effective radio height of the one or more neighbor cells; and employing the elevation matrix to determine the electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the transmit power adjustment based on the effective radio height and position of the target cell relative to the effective radio height and position of the one or more neighbor cells; providing the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment to the target cell for the target cell to apply; determining (314, 318) if the network objective is met after the target cell applies the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment; in response to the network objective being met, confirming (320) the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment with the target cell; and in response to the network objective not being met, instructing the target cell to reverse (322) the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment.
  2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the network objective is to reduce a traffic load on the target cell.
  3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the network objective is to increase a traffic load on the target cell.
  4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the network objective is to reduce the interference between the target cell and the one or more neighbor cells.
  5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to provides the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment to the target cell by executing the computer instructions to perform further actions, the further actions including: instructing the target cell to perform a down tilt.
  6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to provide the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment to the target cell by executing the computer instructions to perform further actions, the further actions including: instructing the target cell to perform an up tilt.
  7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the transmit power capabilities and the antenna tilt capabilities of the target cell by executing the computer instructions to perform further actions, the further actions including: determining a current transmit power setting and a current tilt setting of the target cell.
  8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer instructions to perform further actions, the further actions including: determining that a season or timing constraint associated with the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment has expired; and instructing the target cell to reverse the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment.
  9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer instructions to perform further actions, the further actions including: determining a second electrical antenna tilt adjustment or a second transmit power adjustment for a neighbor cell of the one or more neighbor cells; and providing the second electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the second transmit power adjustment to the neighbor cell for the neighbor cell to apply.
  10. A method, comprising: identifying (302) a target cell in network, wherein the target cell is associated with a network objective; identifying (304) one or more neighbor cells of the target cell in the network; determining (306, 308) transmit power capabilities and antenna tilt capabilities of the target cell; determining (312, 316) an electrical antenna tilt adjustment or a transmit power adjustment for the target cell based on the transmit power capabilities, the antenna tilt capabilities, and the network objective, including: determining an effective radio height of the target cell based on a combination of a terrain elevation at the target cell and an antenna height of the target cell; determining the effective radio height of each corresponding neighbor cell of the one or more neighbor cells based on a combination of the terrain elevation at the corresponding neighbor cell and the antenna height of the corresponding neighbor cell; generating an elevation matrix for the target cell and the one or more neighbor cells to include a position and the effective radio height of the target cell and the position and the effective radio height of the one or more neighbor cells; and employing the elevation matrix to determine the electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the transmit power adjustment based on the effective radio height and position of the target cell relative to the effective radio height and position of the one or more neighbor cells; providing the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment to the target cell for the target cell to apply; determining (314, 318) if the network objective is met after the target cell applies the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment; in response to the network objective being met, confirming (320) the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment with the target cell; and in response to the network objective not being met, instructing the target cell to reverse (322) the determined electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment.
  11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining an interference between the target cell and the one or more neighbor cells; and adjusting the electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the transmit power adjustment for the target cell based on the interference and the network objective.
  12. The method of claim 10, wherein the processor executes the computer instructions to perform further actions, the further actions including: determining a second electrical antenna tilt adjustment or a second transmit power adjustment for a neighbor cell of the one or more neighbor cells; and providing the second electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the second transmit power adjustment to the neighbor cell for the neighbor cell to apply.
  13. The method of claim 10, wherein providing the determined transmit power adjustment to the target cell includes: instructing the target cell to increase transmit power of the target cell.
  14. The method of claim 10, wherein providing the determined transmit power adjustment to the target cell includes: instructing the target cell to decrease transmit power of the target cell.
  15. A system, comprising: a target cell, including: a first memory that stores first computer instructions; and a first processor that, when executing the first computer instructions, cause the target cell to: apply an electrical antenna tilt adjustment or a transmit power adjustment; and a cell utilization server, comprising the computing device of any of claims 1 to 9

Description

Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to digital message communications and, more particularly, to utilizing zero touch traffic management of cells within a 5G communications network. BACKGROUND Description of the Related Art Smart phones are being used more and more by more and more people. As the use of smart phones has increased, so too has the desire for more reliable, fast, and continuous transmission of content. In an effort to improve the content transmission, networks continue to improve with faster speeds and increased bandwidth. The advent and implementation of 5G technology has resulted in faster speeds and increased bandwidth, but with the drawback of needing more cells in the network to limit dead spaces. Adding additional cells in a smaller geographical area can results in cell interference, some cells becoming over loaded, or some cells being under-utilized. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the embodiments described herein have been made. SHAOSHUAI FAN ET AL: "Self-optimization of coverage and capacity based on a fuzzy neural network with cooperative reinforcement learning", EURASIP JOURNAL ON WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING, vol. 2014 no. 1, 1 December 2014 (2014-12-01), page 57, DOI: 10.1186/1687-1499-2014-57 describes an approach for self-optimization of coverage and capacity in LTE networks based on a fuzzy neural network combined with Q-learning and reinforced parameter learning. The self optimization entities operate in a distributed manner to try to optimize power and antenna tilt automatically and cooperatively using the shared optimization experience. Neil Scully: "INFSO-ICT-216284 SOCRATES - D2.1 - Use Cases for Self-Organising Networks", 31 March 2008 (2008-03-31), pages 1-71, describe self-organization methods for LTE radio networks focusing on integrating network planning, configuration and optimization into a single, mostly integrated process. Use cases include configuring radio parameters to optimize coverage area and minimize interference including by adjustment of antenna tilt and pilot power. US8301156B2 describes technologies for load balancing among neighboring cells of a mobile wireless communication network can reduce traffic congestion and improve network system capacity. Load balancing can be accomplished by adjusting various radio access network parameters. Such adjustments may be made at the cell level or at the neighboring cell level. The adjustments can be applied iteratively in response to various collected operational statistics. The adjustments can adapt cell size and cell shape as well as adapt handover to maximize system resource and hardware utilization. An iterative process of optimization can periodically collect performance statistics and network configuration from a mobile wireless network. The collected information can be periodically analyzed to determine parameter adjustments. Configuring additional capacity from the communication network can prevent or substantially delay the acquisition of additional hardware resources to mitigate system capacity issues. BRIEF SUMMARY The invention is defined in the independent claims. Embodiments of the invention are set out in the dependent claims. Briefly described, embodiments are directed toward systems and methods of providing 5G zero touch traffic management of cells in a network. A cell utilization server determines if a target cell in the network should apply an electrical antenna tilt adjustment or a transmit power adjustment based on a network objective (e.g., reduce a load on the target cell, reduce interference between the target cell and a neighbor cell, etc.) and the current operating parameters of the target cell. If so, the cell utilization server instructs the target cell to apply the electrical antenna tilt adjustment, the transmit power adjustment, or a combination thereof. The cell utilization server then determines if the network objective is met after the target cell applies the electrical antenna tilt adjustment or the determined transmit power adjustment. If the network objective is met, then the changes are confirmed, otherwise they are reversed. This process can be performed for a single target cell, multiple target cells, or a combination of a target cell and one or more neighbor cells. In this way, utilization of the cells in the network can be managed and dynamically changed to accommodate for changes in the network or its traffic. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified. For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will be made to the following Detailed Description, which is to be read in association with the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 illustrates a context diagram of an environment for providing zero touch traffic management of cells within a 5G communications network in accordance