Generation and use of a user equipment location distribution in a wireless communication network

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and systems are described related to generating and using a user equipment (UE) location distribution in a wireless communication network. In embodiments, an evolved Node B (eNB) may determine an angle of arrival (AoA) and a timing advance (Tadv) for individual UEs of a plurality of UEs that are in a connected mode with the eNB. The eNB may assign the individual UEs to one of a plurality of bins to generate a UE location distribution. Individual bins of the plurality of bins may correspond to a range of values for the AoA and a range of values for the Tadv to indicate a physical location of the corresponding UEs. The eNB may transmit the UE location distribution to a network management entity, which may adjust one or more parameters of the eNB, based on the UE location distribution, using a capacity and coverage optimization (CCO) function.

1 .- 23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . An apparatus comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more non-transitory storage media having instructions, stored thereon, that when executed by the one or more processors cause the apparatus to:
 obtain an angle of arrival measurement for individual user equipments (UEs) of a plurality of UEs within a cell of a wireless communication network; 
 obtain a timing advance measurement for the individual UEs within the cell; and 
   assign the individual UEs to one of a plurality of bins to obtain a UE location distribution associated with the cell, individual bins of the plurality of bins to correspond to a range of values for the angle of arrival measurements and a range of values for the timing advance measurements.   
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
 adjust a capacity or coverage area of the cell based on the UE location distribution according to a coverage and capacity optimization (CCO) function.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the apparatus is a network management entity. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the network management entity is to adjust the capacity or coverage area of the cell based on a plurality of UE location distributions for respective cells. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , wherein, to adjust the capacity or coverage area of the cell, the apparatus is to adjust a downlink transmit power, an antenna tilt, or an azimuth for transmissions by an evolved Node B (eNB) associated with the cell. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
 obtain a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) measurement from the individual UEs;   average the RSRP measurements or RSRQ measurements for all UEs assigned to a same bin of the plurality of bins;   wherein the UE location distribution further includes the average RSRP measurements or the average RSRQ measurements for the respective bins.   
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the apparatus is an evolved Node B (eNB) associated with the cell. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed, are further to cause the apparatus to transmit the UE location distribution to a network management entity. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the apparatus is to obtain angle of arrival measurements and timing advance measurements for all the individual UEs within the cell that are in a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode. 
     
     
         33 . An apparatus to be employed by a device of a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising:
 transceiver circuitry to communicate with a plurality of user equipments (UEs) within a cell of the wireless communication network;   location distribution circuitry coupled to the transceiver circuitry, the location distribution circuitry to:
 obtain an angle of arrival measurement and a timing advance measurement associated with individual UEs of the plurality of UEs in the cell; 
 assign the individual UEs to one of a plurality of bins to generate a UE location distribution, individual bins of the plurality of bins to correspond to a range of values for the angle of arrival measurements and a range of values for the timing advance measurements to indicate a physical location of the corresponding UEs within the cell; and 
 send the UE location distribution to a network management entity that manages communications for a plurality of cells including the cell. 
   
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the transceiver circuitry is further to receive, from the network management entity, a message to indicate one or more updated parameters for the transceiver circuitry to use for communication with the plurality of UEs to adjust a capacity or a coverage area of the cell based on the UE location distribution. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , wherein the one or more parameters include a downlink transmit power, an antenna tilt, or an azimuth for transmissions in the cell. 
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the location distribution circuitry is further to:
 receive a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) measurement from the individual UEs; and   calculate an average RSRP measurement or an average RSRQ measurement for all UEs assigned to a same bin of the plurality of bins;   wherein the average RSRP measurements or average RSRQ measurements for the plurality of bins are included in the UE location distribution.   
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 36 , wherein the UE location distribution further includes an indicator of a number of the individual UEs that are included in the respective individual bins. 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the timing advance measurement corresponds to a sum of an evolved Node B (eNB) receive-transmit time difference and a UE receive-transmit time difference or an eNB receive-transmit time difference. 
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the location distribution circuitry is to obtain the angle of arrival measurement and the timing advance measurement from the individual UEs. 
     
     
         40 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having instructions, stored thereon, that when executed cause a network management entity of a wireless communication network to:
 obtain a UE location distribution that indicates a number of UEs, of a plurality of UEs in a connected mode with an evolved Node B (eNB), that are included in individual bins of a plurality of bins associated with a cell serviced by the eNB, wherein the individual bins correspond to a range of values for angle of arrival measurements and a range of values for timing advance measurements associated with individual UEs of the plurality of UEs; and   adjust, according to a capacity and coverage optimization (CCO) function, a capacity or a coverage area of the cell based on the UE location distribution.   
     
     
         41 . The one or more media of  claim 40 , wherein the UE location distribution further indicates average reference signal received power (RSRP) information or average reference signal received quality (RSRQ) information for individual bins of the plurality of bins. 
     
     
         42 . The one or more media of  claim 40 , wherein, to adjust the capacity or the coverage of the cell, the network management entity is to adjust a downlink transmit power, an antenna tilt, or an azimuth for transmissions by the eNB. 
     
     
         43 . The one or more media of  claim 40 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the network management entity to adjust a capacity or a coverage area of another cell based on the UE location distribution. 
     
     
         44 . The one or more media of  claim 40 , wherein the cell is a first cell, wherein the UE location distribution is a first UE location distribution associated with the first cell, and wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the network management entity to:
 receive a plurality of UE location distributions associated with respective cells of the wireless communication network; and   adjust, according to the CCO function, a capacity or a coverage area of the plurality of cells based on the plurality of UE location distributions.   
     
     
         45 . The one or more media of  claim 40 , wherein the UE location distribution is received from the eNB. 
     
     
         46 . The one or more media of  claim 40 , wherein, to obtain the UE location distribution, the network management entity is to obtain the angle of arrival measurements and the timing advance measurements for the plurality of UEs and assign individual UEs to one of the individual bins based on the respective angle of arrival measurement and timing advance measurement to generate the UE location distribution.