DESC:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 OF 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING DOMINANCE AREA IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Jio Platforms Limited, an Indian company, having registered address at Office -101, Saffron, Nr. Centre Point, Panchwati 5 Rasta, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - 380006, Gujarat, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communication networks. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and a method for identifying a dominance area in a wireless communication network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The subject matter disclosed in the background section should not be assumed or construed to be prior art merely because of its mention in the background section. Similarly, any problem statement mentioned in the background section or its association with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed or construed to have been previously recognized in the prior art.
[0003] With recent advancements in the wireless communication network, there is a massive increase in a number of users latched to the wireless communication network. As the number of users accessing the wireless communication network continuous to increase globally, the network operators are compelled to expand their infrastructure by deploying more cells to effectively manage and support the number of users latched to the wireless communication network.
[0004] As the number of cells increases in the wireless communication network, a significant challenge of cell interference arises. The cell interference occurs in the wireless communication network when multiple cells operate in proximity. The cell interference degrades the quality of the signal and impacts communication performance of the wireless communication network.
[0005] The cell interference is high in a region where multiple cells provide service to users without any clear dominance of any cell. To reduce the cell interference in such scenario, each coverage region should have a dominant cell. The coverage region without the dominant cell is regarded as a weak coverage area due to poor signal quality resulting in frequent handovers or service drops.
[0006] The presence of the dominant cell reduces the cell interference by reducing the need for deployment of many serving cells. In conventional methods, identification of dominant cells involves exhaustive and complex calculations.
[0007] Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method for identifying a dominance area in a coverage region of a wireless communication network.
SUMMARY
[0008] The following embodiments present a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed invention. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
[0009] In an embodiment, a method for identifying a dominance area in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The method includes partitioning, by a mapping module of a server, a coverage map of a coverage region associated with a plurality of cells into a plurality of grids. The method further includes determining, by an identification module of the server, a number of User Equipment (UEs) served by each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids based on mapping of trace data associated with a plurality of UEs on the plurality of grids. Further, the method includes calculating, by a calculation module of the server, a dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids based on the number of the UEs served by each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids. Furthermore, the method includes identifying, by a dominance area identification module of the server, the dominance area in the coverage region based on the dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids.
[0010] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes receiving, by a receiving module of the server, the trace data from a trace collection entity (TCE). The trace data includes location information of the plurality of UEs in the wireless communication network. Further, the method includes mapping, by the mapping module, the trace data associated with a plurality of UEs on the plurality of grids based on the location information of the plurality of UEs included in the trace data.
[0011] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes displaying, by a display control module of the server, the identified dominance area on the coverage map.
[0012] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes calculating, by the calculation module, a ratio of the number of UEs served by each cell in each grid to a total number of UEs in a corresponding grid. Further, the method includes calculating, the calculation module, the dominance percentage of each cell in each grid based on the ratio.
[0013] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the method further includes determining, for each grid by the dominance area identification module, a difference between at least a first dominance percentage of a first cell of the plurality of cells and a second dominance percentage of a second cell of the plurality of cells. Further, the method includes comparing, by the dominance area identification module, the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage with a threshold value. Furthermore, the method incudes identifying, by the dominance area identification module, an area corresponding to each grid as the dominance area based the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage is greater than the threshold value.
[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a system for identifying a dominance area in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The system includes a mapping module configured to partition a coverage map of a coverage region associated with a plurality of cells into a plurality of grids. The system further includes an identification module configured to determine a number of User Equipment (UEs) served by each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids based on mapping of trace data associated with a plurality of UEs on the plurality of grids. Further, the system includes a calculation module configured to calculate a dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids based on the number of the UEs served by each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids. Furthermore, the system includes a dominance area identification module configured to identify the dominance area in the coverage region based on the dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells in each grid of the plurality of grids.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0015] Various embodiments disclosed herein will become better understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings constitute a part of the present disclosure and illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. Further, components and elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. For the purpose of consistency and ease of understanding, similar components and elements are annotated by reference numerals in the exemplary drawings.
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram depicting an exemplary wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram depicting communication of one or more entities of the wireless communication network with a trace collection entity (TCE) system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of Base Stations (BSs) of the wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a system for identifying a dominance area in the wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates a map depicting the dominance area in the coverage region of the wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a computing system for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Inventive concepts of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples of one or more embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Further, the one or more embodiments disclosed herein are provided to describe the inventive concept thoroughly and completely, and to fully convey the scope of each of the present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, it should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are not mutually exclusive concepts. Accordingly, one or more components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present or used in any other embodiment.
[0024] The following description presents various embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments disclosed herein are presented as teaching examples and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified, omitted, or expanded upon without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0025] The following description contains specific information pertaining to embodiments in the present disclosure. The detailed description uses the phrases “in some embodiments” which may each refer to one or more or all of the same or different embodiments. The term “some” as used herein is defined as “one, or more than one, or all.” Accordingly, the terms “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would all fall under the definition of “some.” In view of the same, the terms, for example, “in an embodiment” refers to one embodiment and the term, for example, “in one or more embodiments” refers to “at least one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments.”
[0026] The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to;” it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion in the so-described one or more listed features, elements in a combination, unless otherwise stated with limiting language. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “have,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”
[0027] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features.
[0028] The description provided herein discloses exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing any of the exemplary embodiments. Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it may be understood by one of the ordinary skilled in the art that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details.
[0029] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein the description, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural forms unless the context of the invention indicates otherwise.
[0030] The terminology and structure employed herein are for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and do not limit, restrict, or reduce the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art.
[0031] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a system and a method for identifying a dominance cell in a coverage region from a plurality of cells serving the coverage region.
[0032] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system and a method for visualizing a dominance area of the plurality of cells in a wireless communication network.
[0033] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system and a method for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network to enable network operators to plan optimization activity in areas with no clear dominance and improve user experience.
[0034] The term “Trace data” in the entire disclosure may represent log of detailed data of a user device at call level. The trace data is an additional source of information to performance measurements and allows going further in monitoring and optimization operations.
[0035] The term “coverage region” may refer to a geographical area where the plurality of cells provides services to users associated with a plurality of User Equipment (UEs).
[0036] The term “ coverage map” may refer to a map showing distribution and strength of network signal across the coverage region.
[0037] The term “grids” may refer to small areas of a fixed size of the coverage map used for analysis or visualization.
[0038] The term “dominant cell” for an area/a grid may refer to a cell among the plurality of cells that provides strongest and a consistent signal coverage within the area/grid.
[0039] The term “dominance percentage” of a specific cell in a specific grid among the grids may refer to a percentage of UEs from the total number of UEs in the specific grid that are served by the specific cell.
[0040] The term “dominance area” may refer an area within a coverage region where the dominant cell is present or at least one cell has a dominance.
[0041] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 through FIG. 7, discussed below, and the one or more embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device.
[0042] FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram depicting an exemplary wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless communication network 100 shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wireless communication network 100 may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure.
[0043] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication network 100 includes a plurality of base stations (BSs) 102-2 to 102-N (may also be referred to as “plurality of cells 102-2 to 102-N”). Each base station among the plurality of BSs 102-2 to 102-N may have same or similar configuration and cumulatively may referred to as “BSs 102” or “cells 102”. It is to be noted that the BSs 102 may also be referred to as “cells”, “gNBs”, or “nodes” interchangeably throughout this disclosure without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, the BSs 102 may also be referred to as “access point (AP)”, “evolved NodeB (eNodeB) (eNB)”, “5G node (5th generation node)”, “wireless point”, “transmission/reception point (TRP)”, “Radio Access Network (RAN)” or other terms having equivalent technical meanings.
[0044] The BSs 102 serve a plurality User Equipments (UEs) 104-2 to 104-N (hereinafter cumulatively referred to as UEs 104) in coverage regions 106-2 to 106-N (hereinafter cumulatively referred to as coverage region 106). Each user equipment among the UEs 104 may have same or similar configuration. Typically, the term “user equipment” or “UE” can refer to any component such as “mobile station”, “subscriber station”, “remote terminal”, “wireless terminal”, “receive point”, “end user device”, or the like.
[0045] The BSs 102 are connected to a network 108 to provide one or more services to the UEs 104. The network 108 may include a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, Internet, or other data network. In some embodiments, the BSs 102 may communicate with each other and with the UEs 104 using a communication technique, such as a 5th Generation 5G/ New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), or other wireless communication techniques.
[0046] The network 108 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and interfaces that may be configured to provide several network ports and several communication channels for transmission and reception of data related to operations of various entities of the wireless communication network 100. Each network port may correspond to a virtual address (or a physical machine address) for transmission and reception of the communication data. For example, the virtual address may be an Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPV4) (or an IPV6 address) and the physical address may be a Media Access Control (MAC) address. The network 108 may be associated with an application layer for implementation of communication protocols based on one or more communication requests from the various entities of the wireless communication network 100. The communication data may be transmitted or received via the communication protocols. Examples of the communication protocols may include, but are not limited to, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Domain Network System (DNS) protocol, Common Management Interface Protocol (CMIP), Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication protocols, or any combination thereof. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the communication data may be transmitted or received via at least one communication channel of several communication channels in the network 108. The communication channels may include, but are not limited to, a wireless channel, a wired channel, a combination of wireless and wired channel thereof. The wireless or wired channel may be associated with a data standard which may be defined by one of a Local Area Network (LAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), Wireless Area Network (WAN), Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a satellite network, the Internet, an optical fiber network, a coaxial cable network, an infrared (IR) network, a radio frequency (RF) network, and a combination thereof. Aspects of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of communication channel, including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies.
[0047] The BSs 102 also communicates with a server 110 configured to identify a dominance area of BSs 102 in the wireless communication network 100. The server 110 may be a network of computers, a software framework, or a combination thereof, that may provide a generalized approach to create a server implementation. Examples of the server 110 may include, but are not limited to, personal computers, laptops, mini-computers, mainframe computers, any non-transient and tangible machine that can execute a machine-readable code, cloud-based servers, distributed server networks, or a network of computer systems. The server 110 may be realized through various web-based technologies such as, but not limited to, a Java web-framework, a .NET framework, a personal home page (PHP) framework, or any web-application framework.
[0048] Extents of the coverage region 106 are shown as approximately circular or elliptical for the purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood that the coverage region 106 associated with the BSs 102, such as coverage region 106-2, 106-4, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending upon the configuration of the BSs 102, and variations in wireless communication network environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.
[0049] Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of the wireless communication network 100, various changes may be made to FIG. 1. For example, the wireless communication network 100 may include any number of BSs in any suitable arrangement. Further, each of the BSs 102 may communicate directly with the server 110. Furthermore, the BSs 102 may provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks.
[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram depicting communication 200 of entities of the wireless communication network 100 with a Trace Collection Entity (TCE) system 204, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The TCE system 204 is a network entity of the wireless communication network 100 that manages collection and collation of UE measurements data received via the BSs 102. The UE measurement data is associated with the UEs 104 and is referred to as “trace data”. The TCE system 204 may be located within the network 108 or the server 110 or may be a separate entity in the wireless communication network 100. The trace data may include timestamps of the user’s sessions associated with the UEs 104, location information of the UEs 104, serving cell information of the UEs 104, duration of each session, types of network activities, data consumption metrics, or any other relevant network usage details.
[0051] The collection of trace data by the TCE system 204 is controlled by a network management system 202 associated with the network 108. The network management system 202 includes an Element Manager (EM) which activates or deactivates collection of the trace data. When the EM activates the collection of the trace data, network elements of the wireless communication network 100 generate the trace data and transfers the trace data to the TCE system 204.
[0052] In one or more embodiments, the EM notifies the BSs 102 of an activation message including configuration information (measurement configuration) measured by the UEs 104 and the location information of the UEs 104. Each BS among the BSs 102 starts a trace session (Starting Trace Session) for collecting UE measurement information and transmits the configuration information measured by the UEs 104. The configuration information includes, for example, a measurement target and a measurement period, or instructions to report location information. The BSs 102 notifies an identifier of the trace session after collecting the UE measurement information. Thereafter, the BSs 102 reports to the TCE system 204, a trace record that records the collected UE measurement information.
[0053] When the BSs 102 executes quality measurement related to a service quality (e.g., QoS), the BSs 102 collect information related to a location of each of the UEs 104 to be a target for the quality measurement. The TCE system 204 may associate the results of the quality measurement with the information related to the location of the UEs 104 to estimate the service quality of the BSs 102 for the UEs 104 at different locations.
[0054] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram 300 of the BSs 102 of the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the BSs 102 as shown in FIG. 3 is for illustration only, and the BSs 102 of FIG. 1 may have same or similar configuration. However, the BSs 102 come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 3 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of the BSs 102.
[0055] As shown in FIG. 3, each of the BSs 102 may include components for bi-directional voice and data communications including components for transmitting and receiving communications, a processor 302, a memory 304, a network communication manager 306, a transceiver 308, one or more antennas 310 (hereinafter also referred to as antennas 310”), and a network communication interface 312. The transceiver 308 may include a transmit processing circuitry, and a receive processing circuitry. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 314).
[0056] The processor 302 may include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of the BSs 102. For example, the processor 302 may control reception of forward or downlink channel signals and the transmission of reverse or uplink channel signals by the receive processing circuitry and the transmit processing circuitry of the transceiver 308, in accordance with well-known principles or concept. The processor 302 may support additional functions as well, such as more advanced wireless communication functions.
[0057] The processor 302 is configured to execute programs and other processes stored in the memory 304. The processor 302 is also configured to store data into the memory 304 or fetch data out of the memory 304 as required by an executing process. The processor 302 may also be coupled to the network communication manager 306 that may allow the BSs 102 to communicate with other devices or systems over a network. The network communication manager 306 may support communications over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s) and manage communications with the network 108 (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 306 may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices, such as UEs 104.
[0058] The memory 304 is coupled to the processor 302. A part of the memory 304 may include a RAM, and another part of the memory 304 may include a Flash memory or other ROM.
[0059] The transceiver 308 may receive from the antennas 310, incoming Radio Frequency (RF) signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the wireless communication network 100. The transceiver 308 may down-convert the incoming RF signals to generate Intermediate Frequency (IF) or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals may be sent to the receive processing circuitry, which generates processed baseband signals by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. The receiver processing circuitry may transmit the processed baseband signals to the processor 302 for further processing. The transmit processing circuitry may receive analog or digital data from the processor 302 and may encode, multiplex, and/or digitize the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband or IF signals. The transceiver 308 may further receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the transmit processing circuitry and up-converts the baseband or IF signals to RF signals that are transmitted via the antennas 310.
[0060] The network communication interface 312 may be configured to enable the BSs 102 to communicate with various entities of the wireless communication network 100 (such as UEs, a core network, and the server 110, and in some scenarios external user device) via the network 108. Examples of the network communication interface 312 may include, but are not limited to, a modem, a network interface such as an Ethernet card, a communication port, and/or a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, an antenna, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a coder-decoder (CODEC) chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, and a local buffer circuit. It will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the communication interface 312 may include any device and/or apparatus capable of providing wireless or wired communications between the BSs 102 and various other entities of the wireless communication network 100.
[0061] Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of each of the BSs 102, various changes may be made to FIG. 3. For example, the BSs 102 may include any number of components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 3. Further, various components in FIG. 3 may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components may be added according to particular needs.
[0062] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of the system 400 for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the system 400 as shown in FIG. 4 is for illustration only. However, the system 400 may come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 4 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of the system 400.
[0063] As shown in FIG. 4, the system 400 includes a server 110. The server 110 includes an Input-Output (I/O) interface 402, one or more processors 404 (hereinafter may also be referred to as “processor 404”), a memory 406, a network communication manager 408, a console host 410, a database 412, and one or more processing modules 414 (hereinafter may also be referred to as “processing modules 414”). Components of the server 110 are coupled to each other via a communication bus 428.
[0064] The I/O interface 402 may include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or codes that may be configured to receive input(s) and present (or display) output(s) on the server 110. For example, the I/O interface may have an input interface and an output interface. The input interface may be configured to enable a user to provide input(s) to trigger (or configure) the server 110 to perform various operations for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network 100, such as but not limited to, configure the server 130 to receive the trace data from the TCE system 204. Examples of the input interface may include, but are not limited to, a touch interface, a mouse, a keyboard, a motion recognition unit, a gesture recognition unit, a voice recognition unit, or the like. Aspects of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the input interface including known, related art, and/or later developed technologies without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. The output interface is configured to control a user device such as UE to display (or present), on a map, the dominance area of the BSs 102 in the coverage region 106. Examples of the output interface of the I/O interface 402 may include, but are not limited to, a digital display, an analog display, a touch screen display, an appearance of a desktop, and/or illuminated characters.
[0065] The processor 404 may include various processing circuitry and communicates with the memory 406, the network communication manager 408, the console host 410, and the database 412 via the communication bus 428. The processor 404 is configured to execute instructions 406A (hereinafter also referred to as “a set of instructions 406A”) stored in the memory 406 and to perform various processes for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network 100. The processor 404 may include one or a plurality of processors, including a general-purpose processor, such as, for example, and without limitation, a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), a dedicated processor, a graphics-only processing unit such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or the like, a programmable logic device, or any combination thereof.
[0066] The memory 406 stores the set of instructions 406A required by the processor 404 of the server 110 for controlling its overall operations. The memory 406 may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory 406 may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The "non-transitory" storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term "non-transitory" should not be interpreted as the memory 406 is non-movable. In some examples, the memory 406 may be configured to store larger amounts of information. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache). The memory 406 may be an internal storage unit or an external storage unit of the server 110, cloud storage, or any other type of external storage. In certain examples, the memory 406 configured as the non-transitory storage medium may include hard drives, solid-state drives, flash drives, Compact Disk (CD), Digital Video Disk (DVD), and the like. Further, the memory 406 may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.
[0067] More specifically, the memory 406 may store computer-readable instructions 406 A including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor 404) cause the server 110 to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 406 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.
[0068] The network communication manager 408 may manage communications with the BSs 102, the core network, or the UEs (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 408 may manage the transfer of data communications for BSs 102 and client devices, such as the base stations 102-2 through 102-N. The network communication manager 408 may include an electronic circuit specific to a standard that enables wired or wireless communication. The network communication manager 408 is configured for communicating with external devices via one or more networks.
[0069] The console host 410 may include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or codes that may be configured to enable the I/O interface 402 to receive input(s) and/or render output(s). In some aspects of the present disclosure, the console host 410 may include suitable logic, instructions, and/or codes for executing various operations of one or more computer executable applications to host a console on an external user device, by way of which a user can trigger the server 110 to identify the dominance area of the BSs 102 in the wireless communication network 100. In some other aspects of the present disclosure, the console host 410 may provide a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the server 110 for user interaction.
[0070] The database 412 is managed by the processor 404 and configured to store coverage maps of the coverage region and visualization maps that are generated by visualizing the dominance area on the coverage map. The database 412 may also store values of dominant percentage of the plurality of cells in the plurality of grids calculated by the system 400.
[0071] The processing module(s) 414 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the server 110. In non-limiting examples, described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processing modules(s) 414 may be processor-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the processor 404 may comprise a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processing module(s) 414. In such examples, the server 110 may also comprise the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the server 110 and the processing resource. In other examples, the processing module(s) 414 may be implemented using an electronic circuitry.
[0072] In one or more embodiments, the processing module(s) 414 may include a receiving module 416, a mapping module 418, an identification module 420, a calculation module 422, a dominance area identification module 424, and a display control module 426.
[0073] In an embodiment, the processor 404, using the receiving module 416, may be configured to receive the trace data from the TCE system 204. The trace data includes timestamps of the user’s sessions associated with the UEs 104, location information of the UEs 104, serving cell information of the UEs 104, duration of each session, types of network activities, data consumption metrics, or any other relevant network usage details.
[0074] Further, the processor 404, using the mapping module 418, may be configured to partition a coverage map of the coverage region 106 into a plurality of grids (herein after referred to as “grids”). The processor 404, using the mapping module 418, may also be configured to map the trace data associated with UEs 104 on the grids using the location information of the UEs 104 included in the trace data.
[0075] In an aspect, the processor 404, using the identification module 420, may be configured determine a number of UEs among the UEs 104 severed by each BS of the BSs 102 based on the mapping of the trace data associated with UEs 104. For example, the processor 404 may determine the number of samples or UEs served by each BS in each grid.
[0076] In one or more aspects, the processor 404, using the calculation module 422, may be configured to calculate a dominance percentage of each BS of the BSs 102 in each grid of the grids based on the number of the UEs served by each BS of the BSs 102 in each grid of the grids. In a non-limiting example, to calculate the dominance percentage of a specific BS in a specific grid, the processor 404 may calculate a ratio of a number of UEs 104 served by the specific BS in the specific grid to total number of UEs in the specific grid.
[0077] In one or more aspects, the processor 404, using the dominance area identification module 424, may be configured to identify the dominance area in the coverage region 106 based on the dominance percentage of the BSs 102 in each grid of the grids. The dominance area indicates an area in the coverage region 106 where at least one BS among the BSs 102 has a clear dominance. For instance, the processor 404 may determine, for each grid, a difference between the dominance percentage of top N BSs. Further, the processor 404 may compare the difference with a threshold value and identify the area corresponding to each grid as the dominance area if the difference between the dominance percentage of top N BSs is greater than the threshold value.
[0078] In a non-limiting example, the processor 404 may determine, in each grid, a difference between at least a first dominance percentage corresponding to a first BS and a second dominance percentage corresponding to a second BS. Further, the processor 404 may compare the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage with the threshold value. Further, the processor 404 may identify the area corresponding to each grid as the dominance area based the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage is greater than the threshold value.
[0079] Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured to identify areas in the coverage region 106 where there is no clear dominance of single BS or more than one BSs are dominating in corresponding area.
[0080] In one or more aspects, the processor 404, using the display control module 426, may be configured to visualize the dominance area of the BSs 102 in the coverage map. For instance, the processor 404 may display, on the map, the dominance area on the coverage map of coverage region 106.
[0081] Although FIG. 4 illustrates one example of the server 110, various changes may be made to FIG. 4. Further, the server 110 may include any number of components in addition to those shown in FIG. 4, without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Further, various components in FIG. 4 may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components may be added according to particular needs. For example, in some aspects of the present disclosure, the server 110 may be coupled to an external database that provides data storage space to the server 110.
[0082] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method 500 for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 500 comprises a series of operation steps indicated by blocks 502 through 510. The method 500 starts at block 502.
[0083] At block 502, the mapping module 418 may partition the coverage map of the coverage region 106 into the grids. The coverage region 106 is a region served by the cells 102 (BSs 102). Further, the mapping module 418 may also map the trace data associated with UEs 104 on the grids using the location information of the UEs 104 included in the trace data. The flow of the method 500 now proceeds to block 504.
[0084] At block 504, identification module 420 may determine the number of UEs served by each cell of the cells 102 in each grid of the grids based on the mapping of the trace data on the grids. The flow of the method 500 now proceeds to block 506.
[0085] At block 506, the calculation module 422 may calculate the dominance percentage of each cell of the cells 102 in each grid of the grids based on the number of the UEs served by each cell in each grid. The flow of the method 500 now proceeds to block 508.
[0086] At block 508, the dominance area identification module 424 may identify the dominance area in the coverage region 106 based on the dominance percentage of each cell of the cells 102 in each grid of the grids. For instance, the dominance area identification module 424 may identify the grids where there is a clear dominance of one cell among the cells 102. In a non-limiting example, for a specific grid, if the difference in top N serving cells dominance percentage value is less than a predefined threshold value, then the dominance area identification module 424 identifies that there is no clear dominance of any cell in the specific grid. Further, if the difference in top N serving cells dominance percentage value is greater than the predefined threshold value, then the top serving cell is identified as the dominant cell for the specific grid and the dominance area identification module 424 identifies that there is a clear dominance of one cell in the specific grid. The flow of the method 500 now proceeds to block 510.
[0087] At block 510, the display control module 426 may display, on the coverage map, the dominance area in the coverage region 106.
[0088] FIG. 6 illustrates a map 600 depicting the dominance area in the coverage region 106 of the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The map 600 may provide a visual representation of the dominance area of BSs 102 (or cells) in the coverage region. The server 110 may utilize the map 600 for obtaining a clear picture of the interference in each grid in the coverage region 106. A zoom-in portion 602 of the map 600 shows a clear dominance representation in a specific region within the coverage region. Based on obtaining the coverage map, remedial actions may be planned to improve performance of the wireless communication network 100 by performing proper network planning and network optimization.
[0089] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a computing system 700 for identifying the dominance area in the wireless communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0090] The computing system 700 includes a network 702, a network interface 704, a processor 706 (similar in functionality to the processor 404 of FIG. 4), an Input/Output (I/O) interface 708 (similar in functionality to the I/O interface 402 of FIG. 4), and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium 710 (hereinafter may also be referred to as the “storage medium 710” or the “storage media 710”). The network interface 704 includes wireless network interfaces such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), or Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) or wired network interfaces such as Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-864 (IEEE-864).
[0091] The processor 706 may include various processing circuitry/modules and communicate with the storage medium 710 and the I/O interface 708. The processor 706 is configured to execute instructions stored in the storage medium 710 and to perform various processes. The processor 706 may include an intelligent hardware device including a general-purpose processor, such as, for example, and without limitation, the CPU, the AP, the dedicated processor, or the like, the graphics-only processing unit such as the GPU, the microcontroller, the FPGA, the programmable logic device, the discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor 706 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions 710-1 stored in the storage medium 710 to cause the system 400 to perform various functions disclosed throughput the disclosure.
[0092] The storage medium 710 stores a set of instructions i.e., computer program instructions 710-1 (hereinafter may also be referred to as instructions 710-1) required by the processor 706 for controlling its overall operations. The storage media 710 may include an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, a quantum storage medium, or the like. For example, the storage media 710 may include, but are not limited to, hard drives, floppy diskettes, optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, solid-state memory devices, or other types of physical media suitable for storing electronic instructions. In one or more embodiments, the storage media 710 includes a Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), a Compact Disk-Read/Write (CD-R/W), and/or a Digital Video Disc (DVD). In one or more implementations, the storage medium 710 stores computer program code configured to cause the computing system 700 to perform at least a portion of the processes and/or methods disclosed herein throughput the disclosure.
[0093] Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to flowchart illustrations of methods and systems according to embodiments of the disclosure, and/or procedures, algorithms, steps, operations, formulae, or other computational depictions, which may also be implemented as computer program products. In this regard, each block or step of the flowchart, and combinations of blocks (and/or steps) in the flowchart, as well as any procedure, algorithm, step, operation, formula, or computational depiction can be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or more computer program instructions embodied in computer-readable program code. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be executed by one or more computer processors, including without limitation a general-purpose computer or special purpose computer, or other programmable processing apparatus to perform a group of operations comprising the operations or blocks described in connection with the disclosed method.
[0094] Further, these computer program instructions, such as embodied in computer-readable program code, may also be stored in one or more computer-readable memory or memory devices (for example, the memory 406 or the storage medium 710) that can direct a computer processor or other programmable processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions 710-1 stored in the computer-readable memory or memory devices produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s).
[0095] It will further be appreciated that the term “computer program instructions” as used herein refer to one or more instructions that can be executed by the one or more processors (for example, the processor 404 or the processor 706) to perform one or more functions as described herein. The instructions 710-1 may also be stored remotely such as on a server, or all or a portion of the instructions can be stored locally and remotely
[0096] Referring to the technical abilities and advantageous effect of the present disclosure, operational advantages that may be provided by above disclosed system and method may enable the network operators to identify areas in the coverage region with no single cell has clear dominance. This lack of dominance results in interference in the coverage region, degrading the user experience. By enabling network operators to visualize dominance of the cells in the coverage region, the disclosed system and method supports more informed network planning where the network operators can target areas with unclear cell dominance for optimization, thereby enhancing overall network performance and user satisfaction. Another potential advantage of the one or more embodiments may include facilitating the implementation of improvised network planning and network optimizing techniques, which further enhanced network efficiency and user experience.
[0097] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methodology described herein in the present disclosure may be carried out in other specific ways than those set forth herein in the above disclosed embodiments without departing from essential characteristics and features of the present invention. The above-described embodiments are therefore to be construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive.
[0098] The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Any combination of the above features and functionalities may be used in accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0099] In the present disclosure, each of the embodiments has been described with reference to numerous specific details which may vary from embodiment to embodiment. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments disclosed herein may reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be comprehended within the meaning of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and is not limited in scope.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[00100] The following list is provided for convenience and in support of the drawing figures and as part of the text of the specification, which describe innovations by reference to multiple items. Items not listed here may nonetheless be part of a given embodiment. For better legibility of the text, a given reference number is recited near some, but not all, recitations of the referenced item in the text. The same reference number may be used with reference to different examples or different instances of a given item. The list of reference numerals is:
100 - Wireless communication network
102 - Base Stations (BSs)
102-2 to 102-N - Plurality of BSs
104 - User Equipment (UEs)
104-2 to 104-N - Plurality of UEs
106 - Coverage region
108 - Network
110 - Server
200 - Communication of network entities with a Trace Collection Entity (TCE) system 204
202 - Network management system
204 - Trace Collection Entity (TCE) system
300 – Block diagram of a BS 102-2
302 – Processor of the BS 102-2
304 - Memory of the BS 102-2
306 – Network communication manager
308- Transceiver of the BS 102-2
310 – Antenna (s)
312 – Network communication interface
314 - Communication bus
400 - Block diagram of the system
402- Input/Output Interface of the server 110
404 – Processor
406 - Memory
406 A - Set of instructions
408 - Network communication manager
410 - Console host
412 - Database
414 - Processing unit(s)/modules(s)
416 - receiving module
418 - Mapping module
420 - Identification module
422 - Calculation module
424 - Dominance area identification module
426 - Display control module
428 - Communication bus
500 - Method for identifying dominance area
502-510- Operation steps of the method 500
600 - Map depicting the dominance area
602 – Zoom-in portion of map depicting the dominance in a specific area
700 – Block diagram of a computing system
702 – Network
704 – Network interface
706 – Processor
708 – Input/Output (I/O) interface
710 – Non-transitory computer readable storage medium
710-1 - Set of instructions
,CLAIMS:We Claim:
1. A method (500) for identifying a dominance area in a wireless communication network (100), the method (500) comprising:
partitioning (502), by a mapping module (418) of a server (110), a coverage map of a coverage region (106) associated with a plurality of cells (102) into a plurality of grids;
determining (504), by an identification module (420) of the server (110), a number of User Equipment (UEs) served by each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids based on mapping of trace data associated with a plurality of UEs (104) on the plurality of grids;
calculating (506), by a calculation module (422) of the server (110), a dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids based on the number of the UEs served by each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids; and
identifying (508), by a dominance area identification module (424) of the server (110), the dominance area in the coverage region based on the dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids.

2. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, by a receiving module of the server (110), the trace data from a trace collection entity (TCE), wherein the trace data includes location information of the plurality of UEs (104) in the wireless communication network (100); and
mapping, by the mapping module (418), the trace data associated with the plurality of UEs (104) on the plurality of grids based on the location information of the plurality of UEs (104) included in the trace data.

3. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising displaying, by a display control module (426) of the server (110), the identified dominance area on the coverage map.

4. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
calculating, by the calculation module (422), a ratio of the number of UEs served by each cell in each grid to a total number of UEs in a corresponding grid; and
calculating, the calculation module (422), the dominance percentage of each cell in each grid based on the ratio.

5. The method (500) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
determining, for each grid by the dominance area identification module (424), a difference between at least a first dominance percentage of a first cell of the plurality of cells (102) and a second dominance percentage of a second cell of the plurality of cells (102);
comparing, by the dominance area identification module (424), the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage with a threshold value; and
identifying, by the dominance area identification module (424), an area corresponding to each grid as the dominance area based the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage is greater than the threshold value.

6. A system (400) for identifying a dominance area in a wireless communication network (100), the system (400) comprising:
a mapping module (418) configured to partition a coverage map of a coverage region associated with a plurality of cells (102) into a plurality of grids;
an identification module (420) configured to determine a number of User Equipment (UEs) served by each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids based on mapping of trace data associated with a plurality of UEs (104) on the plurality of grids;
a calculation module (422) configured to calculate a dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids based on the number of the UEs served by each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids; and
a dominance area identification module (424) configured to identify the dominance area in the coverage region based on the dominance percentage of each cell of the plurality of cells (102) in each grid of the plurality of grids.

7. The system (400) as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a receiving module configured to receive the trace data from a trace collection entity (TCE), wherein the trace data includes location information of the plurality of UEs (104) in the wireless communication network (100),
wherein the mapping module (418) is further configured to map the trace data associated with the plurality of UEs (104) on the plurality of grids based on the location information of the plurality of UEs (104) included in the trace data.

8. The system (400) as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a display control module (426) configured to display the identified dominance area on the coverage map.

9. The system (400) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the calculation module (422) is further configured to:
calculate a ratio of the number of UEs served by each cell in each grid to a total number of UEs in a corresponding grid; and
calculate the dominance percentage of each cell in each grid based on the ratio.

10. The system (400) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the dominance area identification module (424) is further configured to:
determine, for each grid, a difference between at least a first dominance percentage of a first cell of the plurality of cells (102) and a second dominance percentage of a second cell of the plurality of cells (102);
compare the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage with a threshold value; and
identify an area corresponding to each grid as the dominance area based the difference between the at least the first dominance percentage and the second dominance percentage is greater than the threshold value.