Method and apparatus for facilitating a hand-in of user equipment to femto cells

Abstract

Aspects are disclosed for facilitating a hand-in to a femto cell. An identifier is assigned to a femto cell in which the identifier is based on a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter. A relationship between the identifier and the femto cell is then communicated. In another embodiment, a user equipment report is received, which includes attributes related to a signal broadcast by a femto cell. An identifier associated with the femto cell is ascertained from an attribute included in the report. The femto cell is then identified based on the identifier. In a further embodiment, a timing parameter is received, and a scrambling parameter is set. A signal including the scrambling parameter is then broadcast according to an offset related to the timing parameter. In yet another embodiment, a femto cell is detected during an active call. An identifier associated with the femto cell is then ascertained and reported.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method that facilitates a disambiguation of femto cells, comprising:
 receiving a report associated with a target femto cell, the report including a plurality of attributes related to a signal broadcast by the target femto cell;   ascertaining an identifier associated with the target femto cell, the identifier ascertained from at least one attribute included in the report; and   distinguishing the target femto cell from at least one other femto cell, the distinguishing based on the identifier.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising obtaining a plurality of assignments, each of the plurality of assignments exclusively pairing a femto cell with a corresponding unique identifier, wherein the distinguishing comprises matching the identifier with a matching unique identifier. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ascertaining further comprises ascertaining each of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter based on the report, wherein the identifier is based on the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising maintaining a topological representation of a plurality of nodes, wherein the topological representation includes a relative information between the plurality of nodes, and wherein the timing parameter is ascertained using the relative information. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising compiling a list of candidate femto cells. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising ranking the list of candidate femto cells according to a likelihood of being the target femto cell. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the ranking is based on at least one of a received user equipment power or the plurality of attributes. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising testing the list of candidate femto cells in an order consistent with the ranking. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the list of candidate femto cells are tested individually. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the list of candidate femto cells are tested in groups. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising identifying a set of femto cells accessible by a user equipment that generated the report, wherein a relocation preparation includes only preparing the set of femto cells accessible by the user equipment. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising reducing the list of candidate femto cells according to at least one of a measurement included in a relocation message or an uplink scrambling signal strength detection performed by candidate femto cells in the list of candidate femto cells. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the compiling is based on at least one of a vicinity measurement associated with each of the list of candidate femto cells or a user equipment measurement received from at least one external node. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the compiling comprises at least one of manipulating a threshold associated with detecting the list of candidate femto cells or maintaining a history of handover attempts associated with each of the list of candidate femto cells. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising initializing a user equipment to provide a primary scrambling code associated with the target femto cell. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the distinguishing is based on at least one of a global identifier associated with a source cell or a set of radio environment measurements associated with the target femto cell. 
     
     
         17 . An apparatus that facilitates a disambiguation of femto cells, the apparatus comprising:
 a processor configured to execute computer executable components stored in memory, the components including:
 a receiving component configured to receive a report associated with a target femto cell, the report including a plurality of attributes related to a signal broadcast by the target femto cell; 
 an ascertaining component configured to ascertain an identifier associated with the target femto cell, the identifier ascertained from at least one attribute included in the report; and 
 a distinguishing component configured to distinguish the target femto cell from at least one other femto cell based on the identifier. 
   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the receiving component is further configured to receive a plurality of assignments, each of the plurality of assignments exclusively pairing a femto cell with a corresponding unique identifier, wherein the distinguishing component is configured to associate the identifier with a matching unique identifier. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the ascertaining component is further configured to utilize the report to find each of a scrambling parameter and a timing parameter, wherein the identifier is based on the scrambling parameter and the timing parameter. 
     
     
         20 . A computer-readable storage medium comprising code that facilitates a disambiguation of femto cells by causing at least one computer to:
 receive a report associated with a target femto cell, the report including a plurality of attributes related to a signal broadcast by the target femto cell;   ascertain an identifier associated with the target femto cell, the identifier ascertained from at least one attribute included in the report; and   distinguish the target femto cell from at least one other femto cell based on the identifier.