Dynamic allocation of radio resources

Abstract

Radio resources are allocated to communication between a mobile station and a base station. The available set of radio resources may comprise radio resources primarily assigned to a neighboring cell if the 5 mobile station experience an instantaneous low level of co-channel interference from such neighboring cells. The existence of interference is preferably deduced from signal quality measurements of pilot signals. The allocation may concern uplink and/or downlink communication. Devices for performing the measurements are located in the mobile station, while devices for performing the evaluation, selection and actual allocation can be placed in different parts of the communications system-in the mobile station, in a base station or in a core network node, or as a distributed means.

1 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A base station of a radio communications system, comprising:
 evaluation means arranged to determine a radio resource reuse area occupied by a mobile terminal (occupied reuse area) based on a quality report from said mobile terminal, the quality report including a report of quality measures of signals transmitted from a plurality of base stations measured at said mobile terminal;   selection means arranged to select a set of one or more radio resources allowed to be used (allowed resource set) based on the occupied reuse area; and   allocation means arranged to allocate one or more radio resources from the allowed resource set for use in actual communication (actual radio resource(s)) between said mobile terminal and said base station, wherein   the occupied reuse area is one of a plurality of radio resource reuse areas of said base station, the plurality of radio resource use areas including at least an inner part that encloses said base station, an intermediate part that encloses the inner part, and an outer part that encloses the intermediate part and bounded by a cell of said base station, and   a reuse factor of radio resources is highest for the outer part and lowest for the inner part.   
     
     
         20 . The base station according to  claim 19 , wherein the reuse factor for the inner part is substantially one. 
     
     
         21 . The base station according to  claim 19 , wherein
 said radio communication system includes one or more neighbor base stations such that the cell of said base station is directly adjacent to each cell of said one or more neighbor base stations,   a primary set of radio resources is assigned to each base station including said base station (main primary set) and said neighbor base station(s) (neighbor primary set(s)) such that the main primary set has no radio resources in common with any of the neighbor primary set(s),   when the occupied reuse area is the outer part, the allowed resource set includes at most the main primary set,   when the occupied reuse area is the intermediate part, the allowed resource set includes the main primary set and one or more radio resources of the neighbor primary set of at least one neighbor base station, and   when the occupied reuse area is the in part, the allowed resource set includes substantially all radio resources available to the radio communication system.   
     
     
         22 . The base station according to  claim 21 , wherein when the allowed resource set includes radio resource(s) other than the main primary set, said allocation means is arranged to prioritize allocating the radio resources not in the main primary set over the radio resources in the primary set. 
     
     
         23 . The base station according to  claim 21 , wherein,
 said evaluation means is arranged to determine which of said neighbor base station(s) would contribute to a co-channel interference (CCI) experienced by said mobile terminal being at or above a predetermined unacceptable CCI level based on the quality report, and   said selection means is arranged to exclude, from the allowed resource set, the neighbor primary set(s) of said neighbor base station(s) contributing to the unacceptable CCI level, and include, in the allowed resource set, the neighbor primary set(s) of said neighbor base station(s) not contributing to the unacceptable CCI level.   
     
     
         24 . The base station according to  claim 21 , wherein
 said evaluation means is arranged to send information on relative emission powers between data and pilot signals transmitted by said plurality of base stations to said mobile terminal, and receive a determination of which of said neighbor base station(s) would contribute to being at or above a predetermined unacceptable co-channel interference (CCI) level from said mobile terminal, and   said selection means is arranged to exclude, from the allowed resource set, the neighbor primary set of said neighbor base station(s) contributing to the unacceptable CCI level, and include, in the allowed resource set, the neighbor primary set of said neighbor base station(s) not contributing to the unacceptable CCI level.   
     
     
         25 . The base station according to  claim 21 , wherein said selection means is arranged to send information on relative emission powers between data and pilot signals transmitted by said plurality of base stations and information on the main primary set and the neighbor primary set(s) to said mobile terminal, and the allowed resource set from said mobile terminal. 
     
     
         26 . The base station according to  claim 21 , wherein
 said evaluation means is arranged to relay the quality report to a core network node, and receive a determination of which of said neighbor base station(s) would contribute to being at or above a predetermined unacceptable co-channel interference (CCI) level from said core network node, and   said selection means is arranged to exclude, from the allowed resource set, the neighbor primary set of said neighbor base station(s) contributing to the unacceptable CCI level, and include, in the allowed resource set, the neighbor primary set of said neighbor base station(s) not contributing to the unacceptable CCI level.   
     
     
         27 . The base station according to  claim 21 , wherein
 said evaluation means is arranged to relay the quality report to a core network node, and   said selection means is arranged to receive the allowed resource set from said core network node.   
     
     
         28 . The base station according to  claim 19 , wherein said selection means and said allocation means operate independently of other base stations in said radio communication.