Lte user presence detection for small cell placement

Abstract

One embodiment includes a method for determining a target location for a metro cell base station by calculating, via at least one monitoring device, at least one of a number of user equipments within a range of the at least one monitoring device and a radio frequency (RF) level of at least one macro cell base station. The method further includes determining, via the at least one monitoring device, the target location for the metro cell base station based on at least one of the calculated number of user equipments within the range and the calculated RF level of the at least one macro cell base station.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for determining a target location for a metro cell base station comprising:
 calculating, via at least one monitoring device, at least one of a number of user equipments within a range of the at least one monitoring device and a radio frequency (RF) level of at least one macro cell base station; and   determining, via the at least one monitoring device, the target location for the metro cell base station based on at least one of the calculated number of user equipments within the range and the calculated RF level of the at least one macro cell base station.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 calculating an amount of data activity associated with each one of the user equipments within the range, wherein   the determining the target location is further based on the calculated amount of data activity.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 monitoring, via the at least one monitoring device, data associated with at least one control channel between a plurality of user equipments and the at least one macro cell base station; and wherein   the number of user equipments, the amount of data activity and the RF level are calculated based on the monitored data.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one control channel is an uplink Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) channel. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the determining includes:
 decoding the SRS channel using a root sequence of the at least one macro cell base station.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the calculating the number of user equipments within the range of the at least one monitoring device includes:
 calculating a power level of a user equipment from among the plurality of user equipments monitored by the at least one monitoring device;   comparing the power level with a power threshold of the at least one monitoring device; and   determining whether the user equipment is within the range based on the comparing of the power level of the user equipment with the power threshold.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the user equipment is determined to be within the range if the power level of the user equipment is greater than the power threshold. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the calculating the amount of data activity includes:
 determining a correlation between the monitored data and a measurement record for each connection established between each one of the user equipments and the at least one macro cell base station, the correlation being based on at least one of an SRS offset, the power level and a time at which the power level is calculated.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 comparing the calculated number of user equipments with a first threshold;   comparing the amount of data activity with a second threshold; and   comparing the calculated RF level with a third threshold, the third threshold being determined such that if the metro cell base station is placed at the target location, no substantial signal interference from the at least one macro cell base station will be experienced by the metro cell base station, and wherein   the determining the target location for the metro cell base station is based on the comparing of the calculated number of user equipments with the first threshold, the comparing of the amount of data activity with a second threshold and the comparing of the calculated RF level with the third threshold.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the determining includes:
 triangulating the target location based on the comparing and a correlation of additional monitored data and additional comparisons received from an additional monitoring device.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein
 the additional monitored data includes at least one of an amount of data activity of each of a plurality of user equipments within a range of the additional monitoring device, the RF level of the macro cell base station at the additional monitoring device and data associated with at least one control channel between the plurality of user equipments and the at least one macro cell base station; and   the additional comparisons include at least one of a comparison between the number of user equipment within the range of the additional monitoring device and the first threshold, a comparison between the amount of data activity associated with each one of the number of user equipment within the range of the additional monitoring device and a comparison between the RF level of the at least one macro cell base station at the additional monitoring device and the third threshold.   
     
     
         12 . A monitoring device for determining a target location for a metro cell base station comprising:
 a processor configured to,
 calculate at least one of a number of user equipments within a range of the monitoring device and a radio frequency (RF) level of at least one macro cell base station; and 
 determine the target location for the metro cell base station based on at least one of the calculated number of user equipments within the range and the calculated RF level of the at least one macro cell base station. 
   
     
     
         13 . The monitoring device of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 calculate an amount of data activity associated with each one of the user equipments within the range, wherein   the processor further determines the target location based on the calculated amount of data activity.   
     
     
         14 . The monitoring device of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to monitor data associated with at least one control channel between a plurality of user equipments and the at least one macro cell base station; and wherein
 the processor calculates the number of user equipments, the amount of data activity and the RF level based on the monitored data.   
     
     
         15 . The monitoring device of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one control channel is an uplink Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). 
     
     
         16 . The monitoring device of  claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the target location by decoding the SRS channel using a root sequence of the at least one macro cell base station. 
     
     
         17 . The monitoring device of  claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to calculate the number of user equipments by:
 calculating a power level of a user equipment from among the plurality of user equipments monitored by the monitoring device;   comparing the power level with a power threshold of the monitoring device; and   determine whether the user equipment is within the range based on comparing the power level of the user equipment with the power threshold.   
     
     
         18 . The monitoring device of  claim 17 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the user equipment to be within the range upon determining that the power level of the user equipment is greater than the power threshold. 
     
     
         19 . The monitoring device of  claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the amount of data activity by determining a correlation between the monitored data and a measurement record for each connection established between the user equipment and the at least one macro cell base station, the correlation being based on an SRS offset, the power level and a time at which the power level is calculated. 
     
     
         20 . The monitoring device of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 compare the calculated number of user equipments with a first threshold;   compare the calculated amount of data activity with a second threshold; and   compare the calculated RF level with a third threshold, the third threshold being determined such that if the metro cell base station is placed at the target location, no substantial signal interference from the at least one macro cell base station will be experienced by the metro cell base station; and wherein   the processor determines the target location for the metro cell base station based on the comparing of the number of user equipments with the first threshold, the comparing of the calculated amount of data activity with the second threshold and the comparing of the RF level with the third threshold.   
     
     
         21 . The monitoring device of  claim 20 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the target location by triangulating the target location based on the comparisons and a correlation of additional monitored data and additional comparisons received from an additional monitoring device. 
     
     
         22 . The monitoring device of  claim 21 , wherein
 the additional monitored data includes at least one of an amount of data activity of each of a plurality of user equipments within a range of the additional monitoring device, the RF level of the macro cell base station at the additional monitoring device and data associated with at least one control channel between the plurality of user equipments and the at least one macro cell base station; and   the additional comparisons include at least one of a comparison between the number of user equipment within the range of the additional monitoring device and the first threshold, a comparison between the amount of data activity associated with each one of the number of user equipment within the range of the additional monitoring device, and a comparison between the RF level of the at least one macro cell base station at the additional monitoring device and the third threshold.