Apparatus and method for controlling inter-cell interference

Abstract

An apparatus and method for controlling inter-cell interference is disclosed. The user equipment for controlling inter-cell interference in a wireless communication system includes an interference level measuring module configured to measure interference levels of neighboring cells using at least one of information about the number of antennas among antennas deployed in the neighboring cells, information about indexes of the effective antennas, and information about reference signal of the neighboring cells, an interference restriction request determination module configured to compare the interference levels of the neighboring cells with a predetermined threshold and to determine whether or not UE requests an interference restriction to the neighboring cells, and a transmitter configured to transmit information about one or more neighboring cells, to which the interference restriction request will be transmitted, to a serving base station.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of performing inter-cell interference coordination by a first eNodeB (eNB) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
 transmitting a message comprising first information, second information and third information to a second eNB, the first information indicating a level of interference experienced by the first eNB, the second information related to silenced subframes in which transmission in the first eNB is restricted, and the third information indicating a number of specific antennas from among a plurality of antennas of the first eNB,   wherein a downlink transmission or an uplink reception for a user equipment (UE) served by the second eNB is scheduled based on at least the first information, the second information and the third information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message further comprises fourth information related to interference caused by the first eNB. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message is transmitted via X2 interface signaling. 
     
     
         4 . A non-transitory computer readable medium recorded thereon a program for executing the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         5 . An eNodeB (eNB) performing inter-cell interference coordination in a wireless communication system, the eNB comprising:
 a X2 interface module configured to transmit a message comprising first information, second information and third information to another eNB, the first information indicating a level of interference experienced by the eNB, the second information related to silenced subframes in which transmission in the eNB is restricted, and the third information indicating a number of specific antennas from among a plurality of antennas of the eNB,   wherein a downlink transmission or an uplink reception for a user equipment (UE) served by the another eNB is scheduled based on at least the first information, the second information and the third information.   
     
     
         6 . The eNB of  claim 5 , wherein the message further comprises fourth information related to interference caused by the eNB. 
     
     
         7 . The eNB of  claim 5 , wherein the message is transmitted via X2 interface signaling. 
     
     
         8 . A method of performing inter-cell interference coordination by a second eNodeB (eNB) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
 receiving a message comprising first information, second information and third information from a first eNB, the first information indicating a level of interference experienced by the first eNB, the second information related to silenced subframes in which transmission in the first eNB is restricted, and the third information indicating a number of specific antennas from among a plurality of antennas of the first eNB; and   scheduling a downlink transmission or an uplink reception for a user equipment (UE) served by the second eNB based on at least the first information, the second information and the third information.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the message further comprises fourth information related to interference caused by the first eNB. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the message is received via X2 interface signaling. 
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer readable medium recorded thereon a program for executing the method of  claim 8 . 
     
     
         12 . An eNodeB (eNB) performing inter-cell interference coordination in a wireless communication system, the eNB comprising:
 a X2 interface module configured to receive a message comprising first information, second information and third information from another eNB, the first information indicating a level of interference experienced by the another eNB, the second information related to silenced subframes in which transmission in the another eNB is restricted, and the third information indicating a number of specific antennas from among a plurality of antennas of the another eNB; and   a processor configured to schedule a downlink transmission or an uplink reception for a user equipment (UE) served by the eNB based on at least the first information, the second information and the third information.   
     
     
         13 . The eNB of  claim 12 , wherein the message further comprises fourth information related to interference caused by the another eNB. 
     
     
         14 . The eNB of  claim 12 , wherein the message is received via X2 interface signaling.